To test one's mettle
by Zarm
Summary: Expelled from his previous school, Rubick is forced to attend the Disciplined, orderly, tact, and affable University. Will he still be the troublemaker or will be the one in trouble? Rated T for swearing, implied references, and some scenes. Still no Rubick at the character tags.
1. Uncertainty

A/N: I've been itching to make a Rubick fic for a while; never really expected it to be an AU.

Ah, C'est la vie.

Kudos to mie rebus, danceofghosts, and achus93 for their very own AU fics; which highly influenced this one.

If you guys have the time, I suggest you check out their works as well.

* * *

**UNCERTAINTY**

* * *

"Such fascinating energies," smiling under his mask, Rubick ambled on gleefully within the Radiant jungle. The warm rays of sunlight penetrated through the thick layers of his cumbersome clothing. Hearing the all too familiar clash and clang of metal against metal, the Grand Magus slightly quickened his pace.

With his ears perking up, he felt a surge of heat pass through him. Abruptly stopping, Rubick wrinkled his nose "Oh my," the smell of war was apparent in the air, prompting the Magus to hasten his movements; in fear that one of his allies may be in danger.

Carefully threading through the tall overgrowth near the road, Rubick peered through the leaves cautiously. He was somewhat confused by the scene before him "Hmm?" tilting his head sideward, the Magus furrowed his brows. He could see a large man with an equally large sword smashing said weapon onto these small green people.

Wanting to leap into action, he was abruptly stopped by something else; a woman "Interesting," chuckling, Rubick eyed the woman strangely. She was kneeling on the ground, shifting her head from time to time. The woman seemed to be covered in some sort of strange blanket; or his eyesight was getting bad.

The large man continued to beat the small green people, not even noticing the woman in from of him. Seemingly catching her attention, the woman had suddenly turned her gaze towards the Magus. Freezing in place at the sudden attention, Rubick couldn't help but stare at her turquoise orbs that seemed to stare directly at his soul-

A look of irritation graced her features, which highly confused him. Bringing a finger to her masked mouth made Rubick even more confused "Oh?" the irritation on her face grew worse and she started making shushing noises "Ah," the Magus nodded heartily, bringing a thumbs up for her to see.

The rustling of leaves snapped him out of his gawking, but was almost instantly brought back to the scene before him when he had heard the large man let out a loud scream. Adrenaline pumped through his system, masked eyes frantically searched for the woman.

A sigh of relief escaped his lips when he had seen the large man beating the green people albeit a bit more forceful this time. Not to mention that his skin turned red and his eyes glowed. The ridicule that the woman felt for the large man was almost palpable. His ears perked up when he had heard something trod through the grass behind him. Something hard had come in contact to his mage-y back; a sickening crack rang through the relatively quiet forest. The last thing he saw were turquoise orbs widening in fear.

* * *

"Wake up, boy!" a tap to the cheek seemed sufficient enough; but that wasn't the case "You're going to be late!" a resounding smack rang through the empty road that their car was in "Uh- what?" blinking his eyes groggily, the receiver of the slap looked around lazily, a sliver of drool running down the side of his mouth.

"Glad to see you're with us now, Rubick," the slapper guffawed, offering his hand to Rubick, to help him up "What time is it?" green orbs lazily scanned his surroundings; he was in a forest just a minute ago "It's time to go to school, boy," looking up to get a better look at the one who was talking to him, Rubick's eyes widened in realization.

"Ah, did I fall asleep through the trip?" taking the other's hand and standing up, he rubbed at the back of his head sheepishly using his free hand "Sorry about that, dad," the slapper raised a brow curiously and laughed heartily, embracing his son tightly "All is well, don't worry,"

Happily reciprocating the gesture, Rubick wrapped his arms around his father's back; relishing what would most likely be their last contact for the next year or so. Reluctantly letting go, his father reached for his pocket and fished out his wallet "Here's your monthly expenses," handing his son a rolled up wad of money that was roughly the same size as his wrist, Rubick furrowed his brows "Isn't this a bit much?"

Mimicking his son's features, Rubick's father nodded agreeingly "You're right," removing a single slip from it, he smiled "Wouldn't want to spoil you," sighing in defeat, Rubick haphazardly stuffed the money into his left pocket. Squinting his eyes, green orbs scanned his immediate surroundings. The fencing went on for as long as he could see; needless to say, the large shining gates weren't all for show.

"Master Aghanim," a familiar voice rang through his ears "I would prefer not to disrupt you and the young master; but we are running late," his father, Aghanim, looked at his wristwatch and his eyes widened "Whoops, got to go, kiddo," ruffling his son's hair and kissing him on the forehead, Aghanim rushed inside of the passenger seat of their car.

"Sorry, dad," smiling sadly, Rubick sighed once more "Ah, don't mind it," peering out from the open car window, his father beamed "It was my fault in the first place; I mean, why did I even enrol you at GIST?" asking no one in particular, Aghanim shrugged and chuckled, making his son laugh along with him

"Have a nice stay, kiddo!" as the car purred to life, Rubick smiled at his father "Just remember, the most important thing is?" the car had started to move and Rubick's smile grew larger "To have fun!" shouting at his father, Aghanim guffawed, waving at his son.

With a smile as bright as the sun, Rubick marched towards the shining gates; determined to make his father proud. Moving nearer to the gates made it clear just how much bigger they are close up "Wow," chuckling unconsciously, he was snapped back to his senses when someone had cleared their throat.

"I assume you're Rubick, son of Aghanim?" the person's accent amused him. Who knew his name could sound so funny, Reubik "Ahem," clearing her throat once more, she tapped her foot impatiently "Ah, yes!" smiling nervously, he straightened his posture "That would be me," the woman snorted and opened the gates for him "Welcome to the Disciplined, orderly, tact, and affable University," placing an arm on her hip, she scanned Rubick from head to toe.

Gulping audibly, he couldn't help but feel violated at her piercing stare "This is the part where I'm supposed to say have a nice stay," a smile curled up her lips "But it's never nice at DOTA University," pondering on her words for a moment, he was just as confused as he was in his dream.

"Now, now, Luna," a third voice entered their conversation "Don't go scaring the lad off, now," four people came into view. The owner of the voice smiled, wearing a cream colored suit and matching pants, his wrinkled features gave him a somewhat homely look "Sir Ezalor," the lady guard, Luna, erected her posture and saluted. Still processing what the guard had told him, Rubick furrowed his brows "DOTA?"

Five sets of eyes landed on him, whereas none of them even looked confused "Yes, son, that's the abbreviated name of our humble school," chuckling a bit, Ezalor stepped forward "Aghanim is a close friend of ours, and he's already told us much about you," a snort cut their conversation short "Just don't go pulling off a stunt like that here, boy," a voice bellowed from behind Ezalor.

Orange orbs met green ones; the man behind Ezalor sported a black suit with a red shirt inside. His crimson-red hair shone in the sun. He looked just as old as Ezalor; but something about his chaotic hairdo made him kind of look younger "Lest you wish to be expelled; again," his words were enough to make Rubick want to run away in fear, the get up and intense gaze didn't help one bit.

"We have more pressing matters than students doing practical jokes here and there," striding closer to Rubick, Ezalor looked at the redhead in the eye "And that's not even exaggerating things," the two continued to stare daggers at each other, the intensity of their animosity was almost palpable.

"If I may," a soft and almost surreal sounding voice caught all of their attentions "It is not wise to quarrel, given you're ages," the only woman of the four smiled at the two. Sporting a light-blue dress suit and white heels, her wavy white hair hugged her face rather well; frankly, she looked like a cloud "We wouldn't want your blood pressure's to increase, hmm?" snorting, the redhead turned around "Darchrow, show Aghanim's son around," the only one who hadn't spoken nodded in agreement.

"Come," with a voice as intimidating as the redhead's, Darchrow beckoned Rubick to follow him. The stoic man, Darchrow, sported a similar black suit like the redhead, but had purple stripes running through it vertically. Stepping forward, Ezalor had placed an arm on his shoulder "Don't worry too much about what Nessaj said," a small smile graced Rubick's features "He's just always angry, is all," chuckling, he let go of Rubick's shoulder.

"This is Io, my assistant-" gesturing behind him, Ezalor raised a brow curiously "Strange, she was just here a moment ago," furrowing his brows, Rubick scanned the immediate area. It was too spacious for someone to just up and vanish like that. Clearing his throat, Darchrow gestured that Rubick follow him "Please do come along as well, Ezalor. We wouldn't want you getting lost now,"

Taking their words into mind, Rubick couldn't help but feel nervous. And that was a major thing; he never got nervous. Being the son of the genius Aghanim, he was quite the prodigy himself. His father would tell him stories about the University from time to time, and it sounded like a rather fun place. But hey, anywhere his father went, it was always fun.

Sighing in defeat, green orbs looked up to the sun above, slightly squinting his eyes at the brightness of the daystar. _Just have fun_. Smiling at his self-suggestion, he giddily stepped forward, walking behind the two elders.

* * *

A/N: Yes, I know Io's gender is ambiguous and that it had a man-face in DotA 1. But I honestly had no idea what came over me when I though big mama Io would be great. You know, Relocating in to save your ass.

Note: Refer to cover art for Rubick's maskless face and his awesome scarf.


	2. Balderdash

**BALDERDASH**

* * *

"Oh," poking at the strange flowers that grew near the pavement, Rubick smiled to himself; absolutely amused at the bright-pink petals that glimmered due to sunlight "Please refrain from touching the flora," accompanied by the clearing of his throat, Darchrow stated rather nonchalantly "Ah, yes. Sorry," smiling nervously at the other, the raven haired student quickly resumed walking behind the two elders.

Gesturing his hand to the right, which Rubick had noticed was actually gloved, Darchrow continued to speak in his deadpan voice "To your immediate right is the entrance field," lazy pink orbs fluttered around slowly "And to your left is the botanical garden," completely ignoring his words, Rubick found it more interesting to observe the various students doing their businesses at the entrance field.

From his point of view, it was a rather spacious looking place; with benches under the shade of large trees near the field's edges. Students, and professors (he assumed), ran around frantically "Heh," snickering at the thought of a professor running late for class amused him. Some students lounged about at the benches or under the tree itself. What amused him the most was this one person, who was clad in aquamarine clothes and was going around pushing, slapping, and just outright disturbing the others.

Some students didn't seem to care, some were dexterous enough to dodge his incoming assault, while some tried to chase after him; to no avail, mind. His matching colored roller-skates greatly increased his mobility "Pft," snickering to himself, Rubick would be absolutely delighted to meet that person these coming days "Ahem," bumping into Darchrow, the raven haired student smiled nervously, looking upward.

"Sorry,"was all that Rubick could muster, the elder's pink eyes contrasted heavily to his dark-violet hair. Could people even have pink eyes? "We have reached the faculty of Sciences," clearing his throat again, Darchrow opened one door and gestured his arm inwards, prompting Rubick to go inside "I trust you'll be able to go back on your own?" raising a brow lazily at his contemporary, Ezalor nodded in answer "Oh, don't worry about me," smiling, the kindly elder turned around "Just be sure to make Rubick feel comfortable,"

Fishing for a piece of paper inside of his breast pocket, the elder stepped inside "You are- were a graduating Physics major," nodding happily, Rubick beamed "I've been studying quite well for the past few months while I was expelled," slightly pumping his chest out in pride "I may even be valedictorian at the end of the year," a ghost of a smile crept up Darchrow's face; which Rubick found to be very, very, very creepy.

"I suppose you'll get along well with your Physics professor, then," tucking the paper inside his breast pocket, the elder moved onwards, wordlessly prompting the student to follow him. The hall was rather spacious, with a few rows of lockers standing symmetrically at certain points between the rooms. Each room had numbers on top of their door frames "These are the classrooms," Darchrow's nonchalant voice rang through the empty halls "Upstairs are the laboratories and the faculty room,"

Climbing up the stairs at the end of hall, the elder stole a glance at his wristwatch "Your first class is about halfway through," stating that ever so nonchalantly, Rubick could feel his mouth opening a bit. He could've sworn he wasn't _that _late. About to speak, he was silenced when the elder had beat him to it "Your paperwork, forms, and everything else are at the faculty room," making a shooing motion with his hand, Darchrow ascended the stairs "Just take them from Professor Boush when you have the time,"

"Your first class is at room number four," out of eyeshot but not out of earshot, the elder continued to communicate with Rubick. A good half-minute of silence passed before Rubick sighed in relief. That guy really gave him the creeps. He wasn't intimidating like Nessage or whatever his name was; he gave off an aura of uncertainty, like a black hole.

Easily finding room number 'four', the raven haired student gulped audibly. What would his professors be like? His peers? He most certainly hoped they weren't like Dark Crow. Hesitantly retracting his hand from the door, he inhaled deeply, steeling himself. Giving the door a soft knock, he opened it and hoped he wasn't interrupting anything important.

In almost an instant, all eyes within the room fell upon him. Glancing around the room for a good second or two, he surmised that the professor was the one who stood in front, who was looking at him rather curiously. Well, at least that's what he looked like he was doing.

"Yes?" the professor's messy brownish-red hair completely covered his eyes, sharp canines shone when he opened his mouth. He was wearing a red and black shirt with brown pants, with a lab coat over it. What really took his attention was the necklace made of sharp teeth.

"I'm, err, Rubick," the raven haired student started "The new student," the professor looked at him for a few seconds before smiling, showcasing his sharp canines "Ah, yes," gesturing towards the class, he nodded "Please do find a seat, this is simply an orientation," smiling at himself, Rubick couldn't believe how smoothly that went. Sitting next to a small blond student who was tinkering with something, Rubick slightly slouched in his chair.

"For the newcomer's sake, I will re-introduce myself," the professor fished for a marker from his coat's pockets "I am professor Strygwyr," writing his name on the board, Rubick furrowed his brows. And he thought Nassage, Dark Crow, and Ezalor's names were weird "I will be your Biology professor for this and the coming semester," continuing with the introduction, Rubick couldn't help but divert his attention from the professor due to the noise his seatmate was making.

The blond beside him was constructing something. Tongue sticking out and determination clear on his face; Rubick couldn't help but observe the product. It had screws and wires everywhere, the screws were jutting outward, kind of making it look like a spiked mine.

Accidentally moving one of the wires using his screwdriver, the blond's eyes widened in fear, which highly confused Rubick-

Understanding well what that fear meant, Rubick felt a warm rush of air pass through him as smoke smothered his senses. Waving at the air in front of him while coughing, the raven haired student blinked his eyes a few times, trying to get a clear look at what had happened to his seatmate. As the smoke cleared, he saw that everyone inside the room had been coughing and hacking like him.

His seatmate's seat was nowhere to be found, and said person was sitting on the ground; in the middle of the charred tiles. Coughing a puff of smoke, the blond blinked owlishly a few times, as if contemplating what had just happened. Furrowing his brows, Rubick was about to ask if the blond was alright when a voice cut through the relative silence.

"Woo! Way to go, bro!" someone cheered from the back of the room, earning a groan from the blond "Shaddup," speaking through grit teeth, he stood up and wiped the black residue off his face "Way to mess up, bro," the voice from the back of the room continued to tease, increasing the irritation of the blond.

"Squee," sounding almost like a growl, professor Strygwyr sighed in exasperation "Principal Smith's office; now," furrowing his brows, Squee, the blond, was about to speak when the professor had literally growled at him "Bring Spleen and Spoon along with you," pinching the bridge of his noise, Strygwyr sighed in disbelief.

After the three had exited the room, the brunet shook his head "I'm sorry, class. I'm going to have to cancel the rest of this orientation," a mixed sound of cheering and disappointment rang through the room "I'm going to have this room cleaned and fixed; kindly go to your next class," as the room emptied, Rubick couldn't help but chuckle.

"Are they going to be expelled?" asking no one in particular, Rubick smiled at the charred floor tiles. Strygwyr raised a brow curiously; at least that's what he looked like he was doing "Who? The Techies?" instead of answering his question, the professor had added another "Techies?" snorting, Strygwyr shook his head "That's what their classmates call them; it's even spread to the staff,"

Nodding knowingly, Rubick was still awaiting an answer to his first question "Don't worry; they won't be expelled," now it was Rubick's turn to do the brow raising "At most they'll get a verbal reprimand; they've done far worse," chuckling, the professor's shoulders relaxed "I suggest you get going, you don't want to be late for your next class,"

Leaving the room, Rubick fished out a paper from inside his pant pocket. A schedule he made himself just the night before. Looks like his next class was just next door; room five. Absolutely amused at the 'Techies', he couldn't help but smile to himself.

"I'm going to like it here,"


	3. Amusement

**AMUSEMENT**

* * *

"Room five," humming to himself, Rubick was about to enter the room beside professor Strygwyr's when a small man had caught his attention. The man waddled along the hallway, a large wrench in one hand and a toolbox in the other. Slicked back white hair slightly shone beneath the lights, goggles adorned his eyes, and a strange metallic mask covered the bottom part of his face.

"Heya," the man quipped, slightly lifting his goggles upward as a greeting "Oh?" raising a brow curiously, Rubick had no time to reply when the man had entered Strygwyr's room. Shrugging and heeding it no mind, he could hear the white haired man's complaints accompanied by an exasperated sounding Biology professor.

Confidently striding into the room in front of him, Rubick furrowed his brows and slightly flinched in pain; the shrill noise that the occupants of the room made irritated his ears. The same students as the last class (except for the Techies) occupied various seats around the room. Most of them were minding their own business; which kind of amused Rubick.

Noticing a familiar aquamarine shirt, the raven haired student's eyes lit up with glee. Wanting to approach the wearer of said clothes; he was abruptly stopped when someone had cleared their throat "Greetings," a slightly high-pitched voice started. Turning around, he was surprised that the person was literally just a few inches away from his face "My, what beautiful emerald eyes," green orbs met nougat, and a smile crept up her childish features.

"I am Puck," retracting her head a few inches away, she closed her eyes and placed a hand on her chest "I must say, it is very unfortunate of you to have been right next to Squee when that all happened," curly blue hair slightly fell down to her face, which she quickly fixed by blowing it away with a puff of air "Pleasure making your acquaintance," offering her hand for him to shake, Rubick raised a brow curiously before accepting it graciously.

She wore a short sleeved dark aquamarine dress shirt, sky blue pants and black and white sneakers. Her unruly hair kept on falling between her eyes; but she didn't seem to mind "I am Rubick," the raven haired student beamed as he firmly shook the other's hand "Oh my, such a strange name," blinking owlishly a few times, the bluenette looked lost in thought.

About to try and snap her back to her senses, he was abruptly cut off from his words when a third voice had entered their conversation "Don't worry, she's always like that," looking to his immediate left, Rubick recognized the aquamarine prankster to be the source of the voice. Sitting on the nearest chair, the prankster grinned "My name's Skitskurr; pleasure," without even noticing it, Rubick's smile had actually widened to the point of creepiness. He was absolutely delighted at the notion of meeting the prankster so quickly.

"Rubick," repeating his name once more, he gleefully thought of all the pranks he could pull off with Skitskurr and the Techies. So many pranks; yet so little time, he was snapped back to his senses when someone had entered through the front door. Most of the students scrambled to random seats; which Rubick found quite impressive.

Silence filled the room for a brief two seconds before the noise erupted back. The professor held what looked like a remote on both of his hands, which highly interested Rubick. He wore tinted glasses and had messy purple hair. The professor sported a normal looking lab coat over a blue shirt and khaki pants. He carried around a large yellow backpack.

Furrowing his brows in confusion, Rubick eyed the backpack strangely; he could've sworn he saw it move "Good morning, class," the professor's voice boomed through the noisy classroom, prompting the occupants to silence themselves "I am professor Boush," smiling, he started moving his thumbs, pushing and moving the buttons on the strange remotes. The yellow backpack suddenly started to whir and move, making Rubick even more confused.

"I am sure some of you know me," two mechanical arms sprang out of the backpack, one reaching for a marker and writing the professor's name on the board, and the other brought a pipe to his mouth "I am seeing some familiar faces," stroking at his beard thoughtfully, Boush pressed on the remotes one time and the arms quickly retracted themselves inside the backpack.

"No matter," speaking through smoke, the professor chuckled "I will be your Physics professor, hope we all live to see the next semester," earning a laugh from majority of the students, Rubick furrowed his brows "What?" asking no one in particular, Skitskurr had elbowed the raven haired student "That's professor Boush, real chill guy,"

Raising a brow curiously, he diverted his gaze away from the quirky professor and looked at the prankster instead "He's not too strict and is a fun guy to be with," getting the gist of things, Rubick nodded in agreement "See that backpack?" pointing towards the large yellow bag behind the professor, Skitskurr snickered "He was too lazy to do anything; so he decided to invent that,"

Snorting, Rubick couldn't believe how strange these people were. Not that he had anything against them or anything. He continued to observe the professor, who was just standing there, smoking his pipe while the arms wrote on the board "Interesting," muttering to himself, Rubick couldn't help but smile at how ingeniously lazy his Physics professor was.

Raising a brow curiously, Boush scrutinized the raven haired youth "Now, this is a face I've never seen before," gulping audibly, Rubick looked around him frantically, trying to understand who the professor was talking about "Yes. I'm talking about you, son," gesturing with his pipe, the raven haired youth felt his heart beat erratically.

"A-ah, I'm Rubick," slightly stuttering, Rubick smiled nervously "Uh, the new student," looking at him strangely for a good minute or so, Boush snorted "Well, that makes a lot of sense," smiling lazily, the Physics professor gestured with his pipe again "Welcome to DOTA university,"

Smiling broadly, Rubick nodded at the professor "You can get your files from me after I dismiss the class," prompting the mechanical arms to retract themselves once more, Boush took another mouthful of smoke "You kids go and do whatever you want to do," shooing them off, the Physics professor grinned "I'm too lazy to teach anyway," sitting on the chair behind the desk, Boush placed his arms behind his head and propped his legs up on the table.

The students cheered as they left the room "See you later," patting Rubick on the shoulder, Skitskurr skated away, slapping the behind of a brunette "Jerk!" screaming but not chasing after the prankster the brunette fumed. The raven haired student couldn't help but snicker at Skitskurr's cheekiness.

"He could've been a model student if it weren't for the mountain of complaints that he has," snickering through the smoke, Boush prompted his mechanical arms to fish out a folder with a bunch of papers in it "But that's what makes him interesting," smiling, the professor handed Rubick his paperwork "You're free to go," relaxing even further (if that were even possible), Boush's mechanical arms shooed the student away.

Leaving the room, Rubick placed the folder in between of his arm and his side "Let's see," fishing for the schedule he made, the raven haired student was slightly disappointed that he had no classes left. A strange growl echoed through the empty halls; looks like Rubick wasn't the only thing that was disappointed.

Tucking the piece of paper inside of his pant pocket, he rubbed at his stomach "Right," snickering to himself, Rubick left the building of the Science department "Now, where was the cafeteria again?"


	4. Factions

**FACTIONS**

* * *

With a slight hop in his step, Rubick ambled towards the entrance field. There were a lot of students there, and he assumed at least one of them knew where the cafeteria was. Unbeknownst to him, however, four pairs of eyes were intently watching over him.

* * *

The light from the various monitors on the wall served as the sole source of illumination for the poorly lit room. Orange orbs fluttered about impatiently "Well?" with irritation clear in his voice, Nessaj halted his pacing of the room, looking at the center monitor intently "He's almost there," yawning slightly, Ezalor blinked a few times, slowly feeling sleep overtake him.

"He'll choose Dire," snorting, Nessaj tapped his foot impatiently "Only a madman smiles like that," pointing towards the screen were Rubick could be clearly seen, the raven haired youth sported a large grin as he technically skipped his way towards the entrance field "I suppose you're correct about that," furrowing his brows a bit, Ezalor contemplated if he had thought wrong.

"I am guessing he'll pick neither," orange and blue orbs fell upon pink ones "He seems far too lazy and laidback to even care," with his never changing deadpan voice, Darchrow shrugged "Just my opinion," chuckling, Ezalor shook his head "How about you, Io?" turning to look at the only female of their group, blue orbs scanned the dark room curiously.

"She just left a while ago," explaining as a-matter-of-factly, the purplet shrugged "What else would you expect?" snorting once more, Nessaj groaned "Frankly, I don't give a damn what he chooses anymore," a small smile crept up Ezalor's lips as he continued to observe Rubick closely from the screen "We'll see,"

* * *

"Hmm?" with ears perked up, Rubick turned his head to his right. Near the entrance were six people, half of them were all wearing black while the other half all stood out like a sore thumb due to their contrasting colors. The one in the middle, who was wearing all blue, was the one causing all of the noise "Come join the Radiant!" with a booming voice, the one clad in blue made a ton of unnecessary gestures.

"Because you can't spell 'I ain't rad' without Radiant!" the largest one of the colorful trio slapped his forehead with so much force that Rubick heard it all the way from the middle of the entrance field "Wait, that went out wrong," the blue one cupped his chin and furrowed his brows.

The three clad in black snickered, earning them the attention of the one clad in blue "What is so funny?" the blue one raised a brow curiously "And why are you not campaigning for the Dire?" the shortest of the three who wore black snorted "No need, you're doing all the campaigning for us," his golden orbs shifted to the left, eyeing the advancing Rubick "Here comes one right now,"

"Greetings!" the blue one bellowed, giving a dramatic bow to the raven haired student "I am Raijin," smiling widely, the one clad in blue gestured to his left and right "These are my cousins, Xin and Kaolin," the largest one, Kaolin, sighed in disbelief "Cousin, I don't think you should-"

Placing a finger on his cousin's mouth, Raijin shook his head and smiled "Nonsense! I shall do everything in my power to bring glory to the Radiant!" a laugh from the tallest of the ones wearing black abruptly cut Raijin off "Yet all you've brought them was shame," snickering along with his companions, the shortest of the three cleared his throat.

"I am Eredar," sounding almost like a snarl, Eredar pointed towards his two other companions "These are Lucifer and Nevermore," fixing his slicked back dark maroon hair, he snorted "We're the prefects for the Dire," brushing imaginary dust off of his suit, Eredar lifted a finger lazily towards the other three "And those three clowns are the prefects for the Radiant,"

The tallest one, Lucifer, grinned "Seeing as how you've literally went to us, I'm assuming you're either a freshman or a new student," gulping audibly, Rubick couldn't help but feel violated when the large one had easily read him like a book "Bingo," the one to Eredar's left flashed a toothy grin "He's not the former though; looks too old,"

Feeling overwhelmed by their verbatim onslaught, Rubick couldn't believe how easy he was to read "I thought you were trying to recruit him?" scoffing at the other three, Kaolin stepped forward "He's as good as ours, anyway," mimicking the other, Lucifer stepped forward, eyes glinting with violence.

Readying his fists, Kaolin snorted "What makes you so sure about that?" lunging forward, Lucifer threw his fist overhead, slightly missing when Kaolin had parried his attack using his elbow "Come now, let's talk about this-" laughing like a madman, Nevermore lunged towards Raijin, sending a knee square into his gut.

Stepping backwards, Rubick couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. After all his years as a college student, he was witnessing his first ever brawl. Then a realization dawned on him; his fear was quickly replaced by happiness. To think, a brawl he started _himself_. None would deny that there was bad blood between the two factions, but the mere fact that he just went near them and they started fist fighting means he can easily incite violence between people.

Or, you know, trouble just likes to follow him around.

He was snapped back to his senses when a swift kick had landed behind his back, making him fall to the ground "Stop dodging! See what you did to the poor guy?" furrowing his brows, Raijin was about to speak when Nevermore had sent another kick at his direction.

"I don't even know how you idiots graduated," pinching the bridge of his nose, Eredar sighed in disbelief as he turned his head towards the other one who wasn't partaking in the brawl "I'll stop my brothers if you stop your cousins," snarling, golden orbs seethed with anger "Honestly, what will you guys do if I weren't with you," the one clad in red, Xin, nodded in agreement "Come, let us go," his calm golden orbs contrasted those of Eredar's violent ones.

Readying his blades without taking them out of their scabbards, Xin slowly advanced towards Raijin and Nevermore. Mimicking the other, Eredar stormed towards Lucifer and Kaolin. The two were about to charge at the others when they were stopped by something.

"Fighting is not allowed inside the school premises-" started the large man with platinum blond hair. He brought a large metallic bat with him and slammed the weapon onto Raijin's gut before delivering a kick towards Nevermore's direction, making the two fall to the ground "Failure to follow such simple rules will be reprimanded," continued the other, who sported short purple hair and brought along a trident.

Smashing his forehead onto Lucifer's, the large man in black staggered away in pain, clutching at his head with both hands. Thrusting the non-lethal end of his trident towards Kaolin's stomach successfully made the large man clad in green fall on his behind.

Looking on at the spectacle with awe, Rubick couldn't help but believe if what he had just witnessed was actually reality. Those two guys literally took out two people on their own without breaking a sweat "Raijin and Kaolin," sighing, the platinum blond furrowed his brows "Accompany me to principal Smith's office," without even a single complaint, the two followed suit "We shall meet later," placing a hand on his cousin's shoulders, golden orbs looked at them with pity.

"Though, that was stupid," frowning when Raijin had chuckled, the one clad in blue shook his head "Sorry, cousin," kicking Lucifer, the purplet snorted "Come, principal Hinger awaits," frowning, Nevermore grit his teeth "The hell do you think you're doing getting in our way, Slardar-" cut off from his words when Eredar had punched him square in the jaw, Nevermore fell to the ground, blood trickling down from his nose.

"Just take them and go," sighing again, Eredar rubbed his temples "Thanks for intervening," dragging Nevermore along, Slardar snorted "It's part of the job," offering his hand to help, Xin raised a brow curiously at Rubick "Sorry about my cousins," graciously accepting the other's hand, the raven haired student laughed nervously.

"Who were those guys?" sighing for the umpteenth time, Eredar pinched the bridge of his nose again "Those were Sven and Slardar; they're part of the Sentinel," raising a brow curiously, Rubick was about to ask a question when the redhead had beat him to it "They're a specialized guard that protects the school,"

Clearing his throat, Eredar closed his eyes for a moment "So, which organization were you joining?" opening one eye lazily, he expected Rubick to choose the Radiant or something "I, uh," furrowing his brows, the raven haired student wracked his brains as to what the best course of action may be.

"Well?" opening his other eye, Eredar tapped his foot. Thinking of what he dubbed as his most ingenious idea yet, Rubick beamed "Neither! I'll not join any of the two," nodding his head confidently, the raven haired student thought that his choice was the best course of action; he gave himself a mental pat on the back for being so brilliant.

Furrowing his brows, the redhead snarled "Are you stupid?" not even giving Rubick time to react much less give a response, Eredar stormed off "You know what? I'm already pissed off as is," awkward silence fell upon Xin and Rubick, and the raven haired student couldn't help but try and break the ice.

"So, err," clearing his throat, Xin strapped his blades onto his side "You need to choose," turning to leave and go to the principal's office, golden orbs momentarily fell on green ones "It is a rule," leaving Rubick to his lonesome, the one clad in red marched in a martial pace.

With his stomach growling louder than before, Rubick sighed in disbelief "I just wanted to know what the commotion was about," gingerly touching the part of his back that was kicked by Nevermore, the raven haired student groaned "Curiosity _does_ kill the cat,"with shoulders slumping in defeat, Rubick toddled onwards towards the large building in front of him.


	5. Reprieve

**REPRIEVE**

* * *

Gingerly rubbing at his back for the umpteenth time, Rubick furrowed his brows as he groaned. That lanky student, Nevermore, was it? Just remembering his name made the raven haired student slightly irritated; who knew such scrawny limbs could pack such a painful punch? Or kick, he corrected himself.

Sighing exasperatedly, he ascended the steps of the large building. He had no clue what this building was, but he remembered seeing a sign that read 'Main building' near the steps. The growling of his stomach coupled with the aching pain in his back made him rather irritable. Should he go to the cafeteria first or the clinic?

The pain on his back started to sting, and Rubick groaned; clinic it is, then. Finally stepping on flat ground, the raven haired student rejoiced, but was brought back to his senses when his back started to sting again "Way to start the first day," chuckling at himself, Rubick couldn't help but sigh "And the day has yet to end, too,"

Entering the building, Rubick couldn't help but marvel at how spacious the interior was. Yes, it looked large from outside, but he didn't expect it to be _this_ wide inside. Furrowing his brows, he observed that there was a desk in the far end of the ground floor, with two doors right beside it. The hallways to his immediate left and right stretched on for miles; they looked like they had no end.

Two ornate staircases stood out the most, which he presumed led to the second floor. Looking upwards, he couldn't help but feel tiny; there're probably more than ten floors or something. A sting on his lower back returned him back to his senses "Right, clinic," groaning, he squinted his eyes in hopes of seeing anyone he could ask for directions.

Eyeing something blue at the corner of his eye, Rubick quickly turned his gaze towards his immediate right, seeing a short man wearing a blue and white hoodie and brown shorts. Playing with what seemed to be a mop, the raven haired student assumed that he was a janitor.

"Ah, excuse me," approaching the short man, Rubick furrowed his brows when he had earned no reaction "Err, hello?" speaking louder now, he was absolutely confused as to why the short man paid him no mind. His hunger and continual back pain pushed him off the edge; just a bit more and he swore that he was about to burst.

Sighing heavily, Rubick tried composing himself but roared in pain instead as he felt his back sting rather intensely this time "Hmm?" the short man turned around, removing his hoodie and headphones as he did so "You alright, kid?" walking towards the raven haired student, the man discarded his mop and furrowed his brows.

"Peachy," gritting his teeth and biting his lip, Rubick's eye twitched "May I ask where the clinic is?" sweat ran down his face as he felt his whole body throb; that Nevermore guy could really kick well. Shifting the piece of straw that he was biting on, the short man cupped his chin and furrowed his brows "Hmm,"

"Oi, Meepo!" screaming at the hall to their right, the short man scratched at his head "Where're the clinics again?" another man who looked exactly like the janitor peered from one of the open rooms "Second floor, can't miss it," giving the other a thumbs up, the short man grinned "Thanks, Meepo!" waving at the janitor, the lookalike, Meepo, grinned as well "Anytime, Meepo,"

"Second floor, kid," jerking his thumb towards the ornate staircase, Meepo, or whoever he was, smiled "Meepo said it'd be hard to miss," shrugging, the janitor placed the headphones back on his ears and picked up his mop, continuing his dancing routine from earlier.

About to speak, Rubick quickly closed his mouth and furrowed his brows "Ah, thanks," shaking his head, he went towards the staircase to the left. He wasn't going to ask or pry; the students, professors, and staff that he's seen so far are all equally strange. If he were to question their strangeness, he'd probably get an answer that's even stranger; or another question, as a matter of fact.

Ascending the high staircase wasn't an easy feat. It was a good two minutes before he reached the second floor. His stomach rumbled and his back ached; indeed, what a good way to start the semester. Shifting his head from side to side, he furrowed his brows "I can't even," cut off from his words when he had seen the large double doors adjacent to the stairwell, Rubick shrugged. Guess the janitor wasn't kidding that it was hard to miss.

Pushing the right door open, he pinched his nose when the nauseating scent of medicine and herbs assaulted his sense of smell. He could have sworn that something even smelt rotten "Yes?" a nonchalant voice cut through the silence of the room. A man who stood taller than Rubick entered his field of vision. He was sporting a lab coat over a black dress suit with streaks of green and wore similar looking pants.

His sickly green complexion and blank stare almost made him look like a corpse "Who is it, Rotund'jere?" a second voice came from behind one of the two stalls inside of the room "A student, I assume," the sickly looking man replied "What is your business here?" raising a brow lazily, Rotund'jere scrutinized the raven haired youth.

"I have this stinging pain on my back," gingerly reaching for said spot, Rubick flinched in pain. About to speak, he was cut off when the sickly man spoke "I see. From which organization are you from?" blinking a few times as response, Rotund'jere raised a brow curiously "Well?"

"Err, neither," pursing his lips, Rubick couldn't believe that even the factions were brought into this "Are you new?" nodding in agreement at the question, the raven haired student gulped audibly; why were the organizations so important? "I suppose we'll take you as an exception,"

"But wouldn't that give the Dire credit?" peering out from his stall, a tanned man raised a brow at Rotund'jere "Hmm, true," nodding in agreement, the sickly man returned to his stall "I suggest we call a third party to do a check-up on him,"

Going out into the open, the tanned man nodded "How about Zharvakko?" raising a brow incredulously, Rotund'jere did something reminiscent to that of a snort "With his 'Voodoo magic'? We're not trying to kill the new student now, right?" gulping audibly at their conversation, Rubick couldn't help but feel unsafe in here; even though it was a clinic.

Shrugging, the tanned man furrowed his brows "Purist, then?" the sickly man looked to be in thought for a few moments before nodding in agreement "That would be ideal; but don't you dislike him to the point of animosity, Chen?" the tanned man, Chen, retreated towards his stall and took his cell phone "Apart from us and Zharvakko, he's the only one accredited to treat the injured,"

Slight irritation appeared on Chen's features "Plus he's a neutral party; albeit a bit tilting towards the Radiant," nodding along, Rotund'jere prompted Rubick to take a seat on one of the stools near the doors "Plus we won't be compromizing the student's safety if he were the one doing the check-up,"

Sitting down on one of the nearer stools to the door, Rubick observed the two doctors. Everything about them clashed. Chen sported a similar looking labcoat over a white polo and khaki pants. His tanned skin contrasted Rotund'jere's deathly pale. The only similarities Rubick found were how strangely white their irises were.

"Ah, yeah, there's a new student here who," frowning, Chen shook his head "No, he hasn't joined an organization yet," the sickly looking man retreated towards his cubicle and entered it; completely out of eyeshot "No, Zharvakko may just worsen his condition," nodding, a small smile crept up Chen's face "Yeah, sure,"

Pressing something on the screen of his phone, the tanned doctor discarded said item within his pant pocket "He'll be here in around ten minutes, I suggest you sit tight," smiling and nodding, Rubick's features suddenly morphed to that of pain "Or perhaps you'd like to take some painkillers?" raising a hand in front of him, the raven haired student chuckled nervously "N-no need,"

Mimicking the sickly doctor, Chen retreated towards his stall as well "Just give me or Rotund'jere a call if the pain becomes unbearable," silence fell upon the room, and Rubick couldn't help but furrow his brows. Why did you need to be part of a certain organization to be treated? And what did Chen mean when he said 'credit'?

Minutes passed before Rubick felt the familiar stinging pain once more. It felt rather mild compared to his other episodes and he sighed in relief. Passing the time by reading the various signs and reminders littered around the walls of the room, the raven haired student slowly got accustomed to the smell of medicinal herbs and substances.

Almost ten minutes had passed and this 'Purist' person was still nowhere to be found, and the two doctors were awfully quiet, apart from the occasional cough from Rothund'jere; the clinic was dead silent. A good twenty minutes passed and Rubick felt a throbbing pain in his temples; looks like the hunger was worsening.

The doors had suddenly swung open and almost hit Rubick, almost "Sorry, I lost track of time," the person who entered sported a red and white shirt and black pants. His dirty blond locks ran down up 'til his neck, brilliant blue eyes slightly shone "Where's the patient?"

"Over there, at the waiting area," not even bothering to show himself, Chen spoke from behind his cubicle "Complains about back pain," looking behind the door curiously, Purist raised a brow and smiled brightly when green eyes met blue "Ah, you must be the new student,"

"My name is Purist Thunderwrath, I will be, more or less, your Theology professor for this semester," furrowing his brows, Rubick opened his mouth but no words came out "I also double as the Radiant doctor when Chen is busy; the same logic applies to Rotund'jere," prompting the student to turn around, Purist took another stool and sat behind Rubick.

"Now, if you would kindly lift your clothes up," doing as the blond had instructed him too, Rubick frowned "Does it look bad?" pursing his lips for a moment, Purist furrowed his brows "The bruise isn't too big; but it _is_ rather sore," poking the bruise earned the Theology professor a pained yelp from the raven haired student.

Chuckling nervously, Purist shook his head "Whoops, sorry," furrowing his brows, the Theology professor nodded "I suggest you just sleep it off; be careful not to lie on your back, though," lowering his clothes, Rubick turned around and stood up "Do you still have classes to attend to?" shaking his head, Rubick was about to leave the clinic when Purist had cleared his throat.

"After leaving the main building, go take a sharp left and you'll see a building right next to this one; that's the mess hall," as if on cue, Rubick's stomach growled and he smiled sheepishly "I guess you just don't _look_ famished," chuckling, the Theology professor waved him goodbye "Go get lunch and be rested; I'm sure the pain would recede when you wake up the next morning,"

Leaving the clinic, Rubick smiled; at least things were progressively getting better- feeling an all too familiar sharp pain spread throughout his back, the raven haired student couldn't help but spew some profanities. Sighing in disbelief, he slowly descended the stairs "Note to self: must prank Nevermore," a small smile crept up his lips as his mind raced with a thousand scenarios.


	6. Sustenance

**SUSTENANCE**

* * *

"Too… many…" huffing and panting, Rubick placed his arms on his knees "…steps," sitting on the stone steps behind him, the raven haired student tried to regulate his breathing. Wiping away a single drop of sweat that trickled down his brow using the back of his hand, green eyes shifted to the left "Cafeteria's that way," a smile graced his features, which was instantly followed by the growling of his stomach.

Sighing in disbelief, Rubick stood up and ambled towards the mess hall; the mere thought of food made his mouth slightly salivate. A familiar stinging pain on his back snapped him back to his senses and effectively made him flinch in pain. He'll be sure to avoid Nevemore from now on. As a matter of fact, he'll be sure to avoid _all_ six prefects from now on.

Reaching the edge of the building, Rubick turned around and quickly squinted his eyes due to the sunlight. True enough, a structure stood right next to the main hall, albeit smaller. Approaching the establishment with enthusiasm, the raven haired student's stomach grumbled for what he hoped was the last time for today.

Entering the building culture shocked the raven haired student greatly; he could've sworn he heard nothing outside. On the inside of the building, various colourful people littered the strangely wide mess hall. Their voices meshed with each other, while not painful to the ears, the noise was quite irritating to an extent.

To his immediate right was the everyday garden variety cafeteria setting: shiny metal railing that prevented students from cutting in line, glassed cases which showcased food and one obese server. Taking a tray with a plate and utensils, Rubick enthusiastically approached the server; his strange pale irises and somewhat rotten looking teeth unnerved him.

"What can I get you, lad?" smiling at the student, the server leaned his large arm on the counter "That and those," pointing towards the large chunk of meat and assorted steamed vegetables respectively, the server guffawed "Strange combination; but to each his own I guess," slapping the steak on his plate, the server turned around and gave Rubick a glass containing red liquid.

"Haven't seen you before, I'm assumin' you're new," smiling, the server nodded "Name's Pudge, that's one of me specialties," smiling graciously at the server, Rubick exited the aisle and surveyed the mess hall; which was undoubtedly messy indeed. Various colors entered his field of vision; yellow, red, blue, green, he reckoned that the patrons would be able to make a rainbow if they were arranged by their color scheme.

Seeing a familiar shade of aquamarine, Rubick smiled to himself. Four people sat on the table that Skitskurr was sitting on. The raven haired student also recognized Puck; but furrowed his brows when he had seen their two companions.

The one directly next to Skitskurr was tall and lanky; sporting deep cobalt blue hair, a bluish-gray shirt, and dark blue jeans. Rubick could only see his back, so he couldn't get a good look at his face. The person who sat directly in front of the lanky fellow wore similar clothing; with black hair, a light-blue long sleeved shirt with a grey vest on top, and black slacks. His lazy looking azure orbs fluttered about passively; maybe he was related to Rotund'jere?

Sitting right next to the lanky student, Rubick beamed at the others "I hope I'm not disrupting anything," placing his tray on the table, the raven haired student took his utensils and started on the vegetables. The one beside him also had azure eyes; and both pairs of light-blue eyes fell upon him curiously "Oh, no. Don't worry," smiling at Rubick, the bluenette tilted her head sideward "We weren't talking about anything in particular, anyway,"

"Who?" the other raven haired student raised a brow lazily "Rubick. New student. Classmate," tinkering on his roller skates, Skitskurr answered without even bothering to look at the others "Visage. Pleasure," lazy azure orbs slightly twinkled, and a ghost of a smile crept up his features. Okay, he was probably related to Dark Crow, too.

"I am Razor," the lanky student boomed "Pleasure in meeting you; the Underscape gives its regards," munching on his vegetables, Rubick raised a brow curiously "Underscape?" hearing Skitskurr snicker, the raven haired student couldn't help but get even more confused.

"The great Underscape, no less!" smiling widely, Razor had a fire of determination in his eyes "None could challenge the might and wonder of it," blinking a few times, Rubick tried to let the information sink in "Except for Slom and the little kingdom that Ostarion owns," doing something akin to that of a snort, Visage shrugged.

"Have you no pride for the Underscape?" sighing in disbelief, Visage was about to speak when Skitskurr had cut him off; determined to diffuse the tension "So, what took you so long, Rubick?" biting on a large chunk of meat, the raven haired student smiled sheepishly "Went to the clinic," painstakingly gulping down the piece of meat, Rubick shrugged "Had my backed check,"

Snorting, the aquamarine prankster frowned incredulously "You need some milk, gramps?" earning a laugh from his companions, Skitskurr raised a brow curiously "What happened?" smiling nervously, Rubick took a sip from the glass that Pudge handed him; which he quickly spat out as soon as he tasted its contents.

Skitskurr and Razor laughed, while Visage chuckled at the spectacle "That would most likely be Pudge's 'Goblet o' blood'," covering her mouth while stifling a giggle, Puck showed some pity for Rubick "Blood?!" wiping at his tongue using his fingers, the raven haired student couldn't believe that he had just ingested something as inhumane as blood.

Shaking his head, Visage chuckled "It's not _literally_ blood, you know," furrowing his brows even further, the raven haired student visibly cringed while pushing the glass away "He's a rather nice cook; could never tame his lust for making new things, though," nodding in agreement, Rubick stuffed his face with food; determined to get the taste out of his mouth.

"Don't worry, no one's been poisoned before," snickering, Skitskurr stood up and wore his roller skates "At least, not to my knowledge," the bluenet smirked; which didn't help the situation at all "My, how reassuring," a smile crept up Rubick's lips as his companions laughed at his comment. It would seem that things were starting to get progressively better.

* * *

A/N: Feel free to ask any questions if somethings aren't too clear.

If you guys want to see a certain hero, just give a call. I currently have no idea how to implement the other heroes.


	7. Lodgings

**LODGINGS**

* * *

"Apartments?" raising a brow questioningly, Visage's lazy azure orbs scrutinized Rubick closely; which slightly unnerved him "Ah, yes," smiling nervously, green orbs avoided blue ones "That would be too troublesome," scoffing at the notion, Razor shook his head slightly "With the 'Rax and all,"

Slightly sticking his tongue out in disgust, Rubick could still taste the 'blood' " 'Rax?" raising a brow curiously as he painstakingly swallowed his own spit "The glorious, albeit rowdy 'Rax," rolling his eyes, Razor sighed in disbelief "It is quite the homely place, mind,"

The same determination lit up in Razor's azure orbs "But pales in comparison to the great Underscape!" sighing in disbelief and pinching the bridge of his nose, the other raven haired student shook his head "They're the school funded dormitories; every and all students are welcome to stay for free,"

"It's part of the tuition," shrugging, Visage's lazy eyes continued to look even lazier; if that were even possible. Nodding in agreement, Rubick smiled. Looks like he wasn't going to have any problems for his lodgings "Well, we're all done, anyway," standing up, Skitskurr stretched his legs "How about we show Ru the 'Rax?" a smile crept up Rubick's face as Visage shrugged and Razor grinned "Ru?" asking incredulously, the raven haired student looked at Skitskurr with as much ridicule as he could muster.

"Rubick is a mouthful once you say it one too many times," laughing along with the others, Rubick couldn't help but feel giddy in being given a nickname.

* * *

"This is- impressive," with his mouth slightly agape, Rubick stared in awe at the two large structures that stood in front of him. Two equally large buildings completely overtook his eyeshot. The one on the left, painted in black with red streaks looked menacing, in all honestly. Contrasting its neighbour, the building on the right was painted in an immaculate white covered in elegant blue linings; albeit a bit yellowish due to weathering.

"See you later, Puck," waving their female friend off, Skitskurr placed an arm on Rubick's shoulder; or at least tried to "These are the 'Rax," eyeing the bluenette vanish into the white building, the raven haired student raised a brow curiously "Those are the female dormitories," getting a gist of what Rubick wanted to question, the bluenet beat him to the punch.

"And this one, is for us," about to voice his complaints on how menacing the place looked, Rubick opened his mouth to speak but Visage chuckled "Don't worry; it's only menacing on the outside," technically pushing Rubick inside, Skitskurr couldn't help but snicker "Come on, we still have to figure out which room you're in,"

As the four entered the structure, they were greeted with the sight of a man sitting on a desk to their immediate front. His white hair slightly shone in the light, and his golden eyes slowly fluttered on the newspaper that he was reading "Good afternoon, mister Azwraith," with a curtsy, Razor's voice boomed in the relatively empty hall.

Removing his focus on the paper he was reading, the man's eyes slightly lit up on seeing the four students "Ah, Razor," standing up, he clearly towered over the four; even Razor, who was around a head taller than Rubick. He wore a long sleeved teal shirt with a brown vest on top and brown slacks "Are your classes over?" scratching at his chin, Azwraith slightly smiled as he placed the newspaper on the desk in front of him.

"Oh, no," shaking his head, the bluenet smiled "We're just showing Rubick here the 'Rax," eyeing the raven haired student carefully, Azwraith's eyes shone for a moment "Ah, the new student?" the four nodded in agreement as the receptionist fished for something from under his desk.

Reading the writing on the tag on the key, Azwraith threw said item towards Rubick "You're at room twenty-three," tapping his fingers at the table, the receptionist furrowed his brows as he closed his eyes "With Ahrak and Icarus, I think," at the mention of the two names, Skitskurr snickered "Well, Ru is certainly a good addition to that strange tandem," as the two students and receptionist laughed along, Rubick furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Don't worry, son," sitting down, Azwraith stifled one last snicker "They're not bad tenants," nudging the other using his shoulder, the prankster covered his mouth with his hand "They're just really _weird_," shrugging, the raven haired student raised a brow curiously "I have no qualms against eccentricity; I'm sure we'll get along fine,"

Doing something akin to that of a chuckle, Visage shook his head "Oh, we have no doubts that you will," ascending the stairs, the other raven haired student waved the three goodbye "Well, we still have classes, Ru," patting the other's back; which thankfully, wasn't the area with the bruise, Skitskurr and Razor left the building.

"I suppose this is the part where I'm supposed to say 'have a nice stay' or something similar," turning around and giving the receptionist a curious look, golden orbs bore into him for a good second or two "But it's never nice at DOTA University," audibly gulping, Rubick smiled nervously "Good luck and have fun," smirking, Azwraith resumed his reading.

Climbing the staircase cautiously, Rubick's ears were assaulted by various profanities and different pitches of laughter. As he reached the second floor, he eyed the numbers on top of the rooms carefully; trying his best not to get lost in the relatively large hallway. The hallway was spacious, to say the least; it had a similar layout as the hallway in the Faculty of Sciences. It even had similar numbering.

If memory serves him right, the building wasn't actually tall; it was wide. Shrugging, he concluded as to why the interior was so spacious. Seeing the number twenty-three in bold black numbers easily caught his eye "Hmm," before knocking on the door, he recalled what the others had told him about his new roommates "Strange, huh?" raising a brow curiously, he didn't know what strange meant for them. Technically, everyone in this whole school was _strange_; no exceptions.

Knocking on the door, he entered it in a sheepish manner; hoping he wasn't disturbing anyone's sleep or something similar. But in all honesty, who would even be able to sleep with all this noise "Hello?" he called out curiously, seeing that the room was lit, he surmised that someone was inside.

A single pair of orange eyes fell upon him, and Rubick couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated because Nessage had orange eyes, too. Eyeing Rubick curiously, the occupant of the room raised a brow questioningly. His spiky blond hair was _everywhere_ but didn't seem to fall on his face. Rubick pondered how the person could even make ALL that hair stand up like that. On further inspection, his hair had streaks of black on certain places; though the raven haired student couldn't figure out the pattern.

The occupant of the room wore a sleeveless bright orange shirt and wore a black tie with red stripes running over it. He also wore black skinny jeans and bright yellow sneakers "Can I help you?" he started, which snapped Rubick from out of his gawking.

"Ah, I'm Rubick," smiling, the raven haired student entered the room and offered his hand for the other to shake "I'm a new student and your new roommate," the blond blinked at him curiously, a large smile appeared on his features and he literally jumped on Rubick; pulling him into a tight hug.

"I was told you'd be coming," the blond smiled brightly, releasing Rubick from his death hug "My name is Icarus; just Ica or Rus for short," sitting down on the nearest bed, Icarus tilted his head sideward "And our other roommate is Ahrak; but he isn't here at the moment," nodding in agreement, Rubick did recall that name being mentioned by Azwraith.

"I think I remember seeing you in professor Boush's class," furrowing his brows slightly, Icarus suddenly smiled and snapped his fingers "You were the guy next to Squee, right?!" memories of the Techies slightly made Rubick feel sheepish "Err, yeah," laughing, the blond wiped away a tear of mirth "Talk about unlucky,"

Patting the bedding that he was sitting on, Icarus stood up and gestured towards it "I suppose this'll be your bed," jabbing his thumb towards the bed at the farthest end of the room, the blond shrugged as he smiled "Ahrak likes to keep to himself, so he literally _moved_ the bed away on our first day of being roommates,"

Raising a brow curiously at the comment, Rubick chuckled, sitting on the bed given to him "Don't worry, though. He's just really shy," withdrawing towards his beddings, Icarus continued to fix the things that he was working on before the raven haired student had entered the room "May I ask of a favor?" smiling sheepishly, Rubick cleared his throat.

"Sure, shoot," sitting on the large empty suitcase on top of his bed, Icarus smiled at the other "I've got a bad bruise on my back," gesturing towards his behind, Rubick felt the all too familiar stinging pain resound throughout his body "And I've been told not to lie on my back," slightly cringing in pain, the raven haired student sighed in relief as the pain subsided.

"Sounds easy enough," shrugging, the blond smiled brightly at the other "Thanks," chuckling, Rubick sighed in exasperation; at least his back didn't hurt as much as it did as before. Hearing the rustling of metal, Rubick turned to look at Icarus curiously "We can tie you up with this!" smiling; the blond showcased the thick metal chains.

Gulping audibly, the raven haired student shook his head frantically "You can just, you know, refrain from touching my back," pondering upon the suggestion for a moment, Icarus stuffed the chains under his bed as he laughed "Yeah, that works, too," laughing along with the blond, Rubick finally understood what they meant by weird.

"Why do you have chains with you, anwyway?" asking out of curiosity, the raven haired student reclined on his bed, slightly leaning on the wall. Cupping his chin thoughtfully, Icarus shrugged "I just have a bad habit of stuffing things into my suitcase," eyeing the strange trinkets and knickknacks that littered Icarus' bed and its surroundings, Rubick nodded in agreement "I see,"

"I suppose I'll let you rest," waving at the other goodbye, Icarus turned to leave the room "Hopefully we can force Ahrak to open up to us; he's been like that since last year," leaving the room, the blond closed the door behind him and a silence fell upon the room. Closing his eyes as he sighed in relief, Rubick felt sleep overtake his senses.


	8. Morning

**MORNING**

* * *

"An excellent idea," whispering those words to himself, Rubick advanced towards the paved lane; his mind buzzing with different shapes and forms of various things. Raising a brow behind his mask, the Grand Magus halted his walking and furrowed his brows "Curious," looking around cautiously; he felt this irritating nostalgia encompass all his senses.

Looking to his immediate right, he saw a dense looking forest littered with large trees. On further inspection, the forest wasn't dense; it was just unnaturally dark inside. As he entered the strangely familiar place, his surroundings had suddenly lit up; which made him stop in his tracks.

"Oh my," snapping his fingers, Rubick nodded vigorously; remembering what this place was. Looking around the strangely lit forest around him, the Magus heard the faint rushing of water. He surmised that this was the forest he was in during his last dream; the one with the large man and the woman with beautiful turquoise eyes.

Scratching at his head for a moment, he furrowed his brows under his mask. He remembered painfully waking up from his last dream; gulping audibly, Rubick hoped that he wouldn't fall to a similar fate. Hearing the rush of water grow stronger, the Magus' ears perked up when he had heard splashing. It looks like someone else paid a visit to the river.

Placing himself in between of the trees where the water sounded the loudest, Rubick carefully peered through the thick undergrowth, his masked eyes fluttering about, trying his best to find the cause of the splashing.

Rubick's eyes widened in surprised when he had seen a person on a horse. The person had a long white beard and wore beige colored robes. He also brought along a long golden staff which glowed on the end. Seeing the culprit for the splashing, the Magus was about to leave when he had noticed something peculiar; the man kind of looked like Ezalor.

Stifling a chuckle from his lips, his mouth was quickly covered with gloved hands "What do you think you're doing?" a feminine voice cut through the silence; her shushed words slightly alarming the man on the horse. Looking around for any onlookers, the man who looked like Ezalor slightly furrowed his brows at the spot where Rubick was.

Turning his head around slightly, he caught a glimpse of bright pink skin and turquoise eyes. Eyes widening in surprise, the Magus couldn't believe that he was dreaming of the same woman again. Furrowing his brows slightly, Rubick looked down on the ground. How did he know that he was dreaming?

A 'tsk' escaped the woman's lips and the Magus asked through a covered mouth; which he supposed irritated his companion even more. Seeing a light glow at the corner of his eye; Rubick quickly returned his gaze towards the river. With eyes widening in fear, he saw the man on the horse point his staff towards Rubick's direction.

Feeling the woman release her grip on his mouth, the light grew brighter and brighter 'til light was all he could see. Squinting his eyes, Rubick lifted his arm in hopes of blocking out the light; which was the last thing that he saw before being violently shaken.

* * *

Furrowing his brows at how stubborn his raven haired roommate slept, Icarus placed both of his arms on his hips "Ah!" a bright smile graced his features, and the blond quickly made his way towards the curtains of their room. Quickly parting them open, Icarus grinned "Rise and shine!"

Blinking his eyes a few times, Rubick shied away from the light, covering his face with a pillow. Groaning, the raven haired senior lay down on the bed; only to abruptly jump up in pain. Planting his feet onto the ground while rubbing at his back gingerly, Rubick hissed in pain as his eyes tried to get used to the sudden onslaught of light.

"Yeowch," smiling apologetically at his senior, Icarus shrugged "Does it still hurt?" poking at his back, Rubick felt a sharp pain; albeit a bit weaker than yesterday "Huh, not as much, I guess," a smile crept up the raven haired student's features "Guess I have to go thank professor Purist for that,"

"What time is it?" an irritated voice joined their conversation, and two pairs of eyes fell upon the lone bed at the far end of the room. Someone was lying down; Rubick could tell, but he couldn't get a good look at the person due to the fact that he was literally burrowed under his sheets.

"Five fifteen," gleefully answering, Icarus beamed "I was hoping you guys would have liked to join me for breakfast!" growling from under his sheets, their roommate surfaced; showcasing messy bright brown hair. Groggy and slightly irritated zinc yellow eyes seethed at the blond.

"Oh come on, Ahrak, pretty please?" eyeing the other student carefully, Rubick raised a brow curiously. So this was that 'Ahrak' person "Wait, five fifteen in the _morning_?" yellow and orange orbs looked at him curiously "Yep," beaming, the blond pulled at Ahrak's sheets "You were sleeping like a baby when I came back last night,"

Feeling heat rise to his face, Rubick smiled sheepishly "Is that so," groaning at the sudden cold that encompassed his body, the brunet stood up and fished for some clothes at the drawer right next to his bed "Fine, I wanted to get up early anyway," folding the sheet into a neat little rectangle, Icarus placed it proudly at the foot of Ahrak's bed "Hooray!"

Slightly jumping in glee, the blond placed his arms on his hips proudly "This way, we can get to know each other, too!" muttering something under his breath, Ahrak wore a brown long sleeved sweater over his red sleeveless shirt; haphazardly stuffing his legs into a pair of dark brown slacks "Yeah, whatever,"

Amused at how differently his roommates acted, Rubick took off his scarf and jacket, leaving him with a simple green shirt "You're not going to change?" raising a brow, Icarus asked curiously. Pondering on the suggestion, Rubick's face fell "I, uh, forgot to bring clothes,"

"Oh dear," stifling a laugh, Icarus smiled sympathetically. Smiling sheepishly, the raven haired student shrugged "I suppose I'll just give my dad a call and let him send some clothes for me," tying the laces of his sneakers, Ahrak snickered "Don't worry, none of the others would notice if you didn't change clothes," raising a brow curiously, Rubick's eyes sent a silent question at the brunet.

"The people here wear similar clothing each and every day that it sometimes seem that they hadn't changed at all," pausing for a moment, Ahrak snorted "Except for Icarus here," eyeing the blond curiously, Rubick nodded in agreement. True enough, their sunny roommate did have a change of clothing.

Wearing orange pants, black shoes, and a similar looking tie with a cartoonish sun motif, Rubick couldn't help but feel rather uncomfortable at Icarus' choice of clothing; or lack thereof. Instead of a normal shirt, the blond wore a bright yellow vest. That's it, a vest; nothing more, nothing less.

"Eh, it's a habit," shrugging, Icarus smiled "Let's go get ourselves some breakfast, hmm?" standing up from their beds, Rubick and Ahrak followed a giddy Icarus out of their room.

* * *

It was quite the chilly morning, which made Rubick regret taking off his jacket. Ahrak was quite fine with his sweater, but the strangest thing was that Icarus didn't seem fazed by the cold morning wind at all. Entering the mess hall with enthusiasm, the raven haired student noticed that there were little to no people inside.

Scoffing at his observation, he slapped his forehead. Of course there would be a small amount of people; who wakes up at five in the morning, anyway? Skipping towards the server, Icarus pointed towards at a myriad of food; which filled his plate to the brim. Pointing towards toast and ordering a glass of orange juice, Rubick was amused at how his two roommates contrasted each other.

"Had a nice sleep, lad?" smiling at Rubick, Pudge leaned on the counter again "Ah, yes. Thanks for asking," pointing at pancakes, the raven haired student raised a brow curiously at Pudge who had laughed "You seemed to have a greater appetite yesterday," smiling sheepishly, Rubick shrugged "I was just really hungry, I guess,"

Giving him a serving of two pancakes and a small bowl of butter, the server waved him off. Exiting the aisle, he sat beside Ahrak, who was passively crunching on his toast. Icarus' plate was a sight to behold. It had around four pieces of toast, three pancakes, a roll of French toast, seven sausages, a bun less hotdog, two strips of bacon on top of each other with two sunny-side-up eggs, and a bowl of cereal at the side with two glasses of orange juice.

Seeing the blond devouring the strange combination of food with ease made Rubick wonder how Icarus managed to seem… skinny. Spreading the butter using a bread knife on one of his pancakes, Rubick smiled at how strange everyone in this place was "I'm sure you two already know who I am," easily swallowing the large amount of food in his mouth, the blond wiped at his mouth area using his arm.

"The only student who wakes up at five?" snorting, Ahrak finished his first piece of toast "Well, not really," looking around at the other people who occupied the cafeteria, Icarus blinked a few times which made the brunet shake his head "I am Ahrak," licking at the ends of his fingers, Ahrak offered his free hand for Rubick to shake "I'm taking Criminology; same year as Icarus,"

Shaking his hand graciously, Rubick nodded in agreement "Rubick. Graduating Physics major," raising a brow curiously, Ahrak bit on his toast "Were you the one next to Squee when his mine went off?" stifling a laugh, Icarus nodded frantically "Yep, that's him,"

Snorting, the brunet stifled a laugh "Welcome to the university, I guess," finishing his first pancake, Rubick proceeded to spread butter on the other one "How come so many people know about that?" snorting again, Ahrak finished his second piece of toast "The school has a pretty small population; and almost anything that has to do with the Techies gets disseminated fast," resting his chin on his fist, the brunet shrugged "You're new, though. I suppose everyone will remember you for your unluckiness,"

"But isn't that Aggron's thing?" speaking through a full mouth, Icarus raised a brow "The Stonebreak twins are pretty lucky, actually," nodding in agreement, the blond resumed his voracious assault on his food "It's been a pleasure," standing up, Ahrak turned to leave the mess hall, putting his hands inside of his pockets.

"He doesn't seem that shy at all," munching on his pancake, Rubick raised a brow curiously at Ahrak's direction. Swallowing all the food inside of his mouth, Icarus shrugged "Guess he's just in a good mood today," resuming his assault on his food, Icarus stopped a few times to drink his orange juice. A smile crept up Rubick's lips, absolutely enthusiastic at how this day would turn out.

* * *

A/N: I know this gives off little to nothing about who Ahrak is; but I promise to put more development into him, to finally give off his identity.

To whoever knows who already knows which hero he's supposed to be; kudos to you.


	9. Peculiarity

**PECULIARITY**

* * *

"Ah, that hit the spot," caressing his stomach fondly, Icarus slightly reclined on his seat. Abruptly standing up and exhaling enthusiastically, the blond sent a thumbs-up towards Pudge "Well, my first class starts at seven; want me to show you around?" stealing a glance at the wall clock above the cafeteria doors, Rubick smiled graciously "I would very much appreciate that, yes,"

* * *

"This is the entrance field!" stretching his arms outward, the blond fell on the trimmed grass behind him "It's a sort of sanctuary for students and professors alike," locking his gaze towards the area were the six prefects were yesterday, Rubick's bruise ached at the memory "Sanctuary, huh?" sitting up, Icarus pointed towards the building behind the raven haired student "That's the main building,"

"It houses the professor's lodgings, the clinics, other science course classrooms, the guidance counselling room, and miscellaneous faculty rooms," slightly turning around, Rubick eyed the large building closely; at least he's had experienced relatively nice things here, apart from the ridiculous amount of steps.

Jabbing his thumb towards the left, Icarus stood up from the grass "That's the new faculty of Sciences; where most of us take our classes," raising a brow at the blond's words, Rubick was about to speak when Icarus had cut him off "This school only offers courses that major in Science and some Engineering ones," shrugging, Icarus started walking towards the Science building.

"Some of the sciences that tackle behavior are taught over at the main building," gesturing at the large building behind them using his head, Icarus smiled "Like what Ahrak's taking," nodding in agreement, the raven haired student followed the blond "That explains why the student population is so small," talking to no one in particular, Rubick looked to his right, which showcased an open field.

"That's the sports field," stopping for a moment, Icarus nodded "But that's only reason number two, mind you," averting his gaze from the field, Rubick raised a brow curiously at the blond; asking him a silent question through his gaze "It's the cut off," smiling proudly, Rubick could've sworn that Icarus puffed his chest out in pride.

"Only a handful of students are accepted," shrugging, Icarus continued walking towards the Science building "The interview probably determines if you're in or not," the blond slowed down his pace a bit; which Rubick mimicked "There's only like around sixty students in the campus, I think,"

Scoffing at the notion, Rubick raised a brow curiously "They're all pretty strange, though," snorting, the raven haired student shook his head; everyone in the school had their own quirks, even the professors. Thinking about it, Rubick's eyes widened in realization "Wait,"

Turning around and giving his senior a curious look, Icarus scrutinized Rubick's somewhat pale features "I think I know what the criteria for being accepted is," blinking a few times, the blond scooted closer "It's strangeness," realization washed over Icarus, and his mouth fell agape.

* * *

"It's plausible," shrugging, Visage's lazy azure orbs fluttered about; alternating between all of the people around him "I mean, even the professors are strange," tapping at the table, Rubick added to their 'evidence' "But I'm not _strange_!" with his shoulder's slumping down in disappointment, Icarus sighed exasperatedly while five pairs of incredulous looks fell upon him.

"Okay, maybe I am," pursing his lips, the blond lowered his head in defeat, with Puck trying to comfort him by ruffling his hair. Snickering, Skitskurr rested his face on his hand "Well, the only way to debunk this so called 'theory' of yours is to find at least _one_ normal person in this school," nodding in agreement at the prankster's suggestion, a flame of determination lit up in Razor's eyes. Again.

"Then we shall find this aberrant and inquire of his or her normality!" slapping his face slightly, Visage chuckled along as his companions laughed at Razor's enthusiasm. Propping his legs up on his chair, Skitskurr placed his arms behind his head as he shifted to a comfortable position "Let's start with our classmates,"

All five pairs of eyes scanned their relatively empty classroom; which made it rather easy to find 'aberrants' as Razor fondly called them. Sticking out his tongue, Icarus' eyes face lit up and he smiled widely "How about Yurnero over there?" pointing towards the student who wore a white mask and a bright orange jacket with brown fur on the collar, the blond nodded enthusiastically "He doesn't seem weird,"

Snorting, Skitskurr didn't even bother to open his eyes "He wears the same mask _every day_," about to speak, Icarus was cut off from his words when Visage had sneered as well "He also brings around a katana everywhere; guess he's out of the list," slumping his shoulders in defeat once more, the blond's face fell.

"How about him?" pointing at the blond student who was reclining on his chair like Skitskurr, Rubick raised a brow curiously "He seems like an average Joe," chuckling, Razor shook his head "Who, _Clinkz_?" an exchange of snickers around the group made the raven haired student quite confused "He's far from normal, mind," stifling a laugh, the bluenet shook his head "Afflicted with Pyromania, enough said," gulping audibly, Rubick stole another glance at the sleeping blond.

Setting his feet on the ground, Skitskurr stretched his arms upward "No one is sane enough to set fire to their arrows," another round of laughter befell the group "Speaking of arrows," clearing her throat, Puck smiled "What about Mirana?" silence fell upon the group, and all of their features morphed to those of curiosity "You know, she's rather _normal _in all honesty," shrugging, Visage nodded at his own statement.

About to speak, Skitskurr was cut off from his words when someone had cleared their throat from behind him. All six pairs of eyes fell upon the figure of a lone woman; dark brown hair contrasting her pink skin as her light-blue eyes bore into Skitskurr's soul "Ah, _Weaver_," voice coated in irritation, her calm features betrayed her feelings "I wasn't able to say thanks from yesterday,"

Gulping audibly, the prankster sank in his chair "M-mirana!" smiling sheepishly, he was about to make a run for it when the brunette had suddenly rushed towards him "What a surprise!" breaking into a nervous sweat, Skitskurr tried to squirm away from Mirana's grip on his clothes "You know what else was a surprise?" shaking his head frantically, the bluenet gulped audibly. Bracing himself for a scolding or a slap to the cheek, Skitskurr closed his eyes.

"I think that's enough, Mirana," stifling a laugh at the scene, a woman with bright orange hair placed her hand on the brunette's shoulder. Releasing her grip on Skitskurr's clothes, Mirana smiled apologetically, her cheeks slightly turning pink "My bad, Slithice," quickly returning her gaze towards the prankster, Mirana glared at Skitskurr "Pull another stunt like that again and I'll-"

Raising his hands in defeat, the bluenet shook his head "No ma'am, never again," making a motion at his chest, Skitskurr smiled nervously "Cross my heart and hope to die," standing up from his seat, Icarus stole a glance at his wristwatch "My class is about to start, see you later Rubick," waving at the raven haired student off, the blond was abruptly stopped when Mirana had placed an arm on his shoulder.

"Professor Disruptor isn't coming in today," raising a brow curiously; the brunette furrowed her brows "Weren't you listening yesterday?" furrowing his brows and tapping at his chin, Icarus shook his head "Really? I wasn't aware," sighing in disbelief, Mirana couldn't believe how much of an airhead the blond was. Giggling, Slithice placed an arm on Mirana and Icarus' shoulders "Perfect timing; principal Smith wanted to see you two,"

As the three left the classroom, Skitskurr sighed in relief "I dare you to call that _normal_," laughter erupted from their circle "It's like she jumped towards me or something," shaking his head, Visage chuckled "Guess Mirana is off the list, too," as the occupants of the room slowly increased in number, the five fixed their chairs and aligned them properly.

"Let's just try and find these 'aberrants' during the break," propping his legs up on his chair once more, Skitskurr placed his arms behind his head "First period is about to start," fishing for the schedule that he made from within his pant pockets, Rubick smiled at the notion of finding someone 'normal' in this school.

Finding the piece of paper, his eyes lit up with excitement "Physics," whispering to himself, his smile grew even larger; what a way to start the day.

* * *

A/N: For the Guest that finds 'SK' cute in my fic, I am highly confused. I have yet to implement Sand King into the story; though I suppose you meant Skitskurr the Weaver?

Anyway, you seem to have hit the bullseye on who Ahrak is; kudos to you.

I'm just putting Heroes here and there; with no actual idea on how to implement them and give them character development (ie: Juggernaut and Clinkz in this one).

Any and all suggestions from you guys are highly appreciated.


	10. Revelations

**REVELATIONS**

* * *

"Weaver?" realization dawned on Rubick as he recalled what the menacing brunette had called his aquamarine-clad friend. Furrowing his brows and raising a brow curiously at the prankster beside him, Rubick wordlessly waited for an answer as Skitskurr opened one eye with equal curiosity. Leaning his elbows on the rests of their chairs, Visage cleared his throat "It's kind of like Techies,"

Shrugging, Weaver nodded in agreement "They started calling me that when even Banehallow couldn't catch me," with lips turning into a snicker, Skitskurr's face was painted with arrogance. Snorting while rolling his eyes, Visage reclined on his seat "He actually did catch you; then your roller skates were confiscated by principal Hinger," muttering under his breath, Weaver planted his feet on the ground.

"Didn't know that the old man could run so fast," a hearty chuckle entered their conversation "Do you suppose he can outrun professor Strygwyr?" stifling a laugh, Razor contributed to their reminiscing; full blown laughter escaped the lips of the three friends. An awkward smile crept up Rubick's face; who was Banehallow and principal Hinger?

Wiping away a tear of mirth, Skitskurr turned towards Rubick's direction "Sorry 'bout that, Ru," smiling apologetically, Weaver cleared his throat "I've been pranking people with my high mobility ever since I've been here," a smirk slowly made its way up Skitskurr's face "And, well, some students got pissed and sent for Banehallow; the school's main guard,"

"I literally _weaved_ through the whole campus just to get away from him," shrugging, Skitskurr furrowed his brows playfully when Razor and Visage had started snickering "Apparently, old man Banehallow wasn't too slow himself," raising a brow curiously, Rubick's lips slowly turned into a smile "Let's just say that one thing led to another and he _actually_ caught up with me," stifling their laughter, Razor and Visage urged Skitskurr to continue his story.

Sighing in defeat, Weaver lowered his head "I was given the derogatory term of _Weaver_ and my skates were confiscated from me," nodding his head in agreement, Rubick stifled a laugh as he wondered what kind of title he'd get "How about the incident with professor Zeus?" asking curiously, Puck's voice entered their conversation; a hush befell them as loud laughter abruptly roared from the group.

Slapping his forehead with his palm, Skitskurr shook his head "I'd, uh, rather not remember that," various pairs of eyes fell upon the group, and Rubick couldn't help but feel a tad bit embarrassed at how much noise his companions were making "Is this about professor Zeus' clothes?" the blond boy who they were talking about earlier joined their conversation from the far end of the room.

"Shut it, Clinkz," at the mere mention of the professor's name, the whole class erupted into laughter "Had fun _weaving_, Weaver?" a short student with dark green hair taunted "Must have been a chore trying to _patch things up_ with professor Zeus," as the laughter within the room increased, Rubick eyed Skitskurr in concern "It was pretty hard; but I suppose you'd know what _hard_ is," a smirk graced the bluenet's features.

"How's your boyfriend doing, Pugna?" with his voice full of cheekiness, Skitskurr grinned triumphantly, a chorus of cheers and laughter went towards the green haired student's way. Snorting, Pugna crossed his arms and nodded; a tinge of irritation clear on his face "Touché, _Weaver_," as the laughter slowly died down, Skitskurr smirked "Right back at you; just don't send me to _Oblivion_ or something," the laughter resumed and Skitskurr raised his hands in the air, signifying that he was finished.

"My, I'm gladdened at how active you all are today," a familiar voice rang through the roar of laughter. Silence fell upon the room as professor Boush took one last puff form his pipe before prompting his mechanical arms to hold the pipe for him. Entering the room, the Physics professor sat down on the chair behind the desk in front of the room "How can you all be so active in the morning?" raising a brow, a smile graced the professor's features.

Shrugging, he reclined on his chair "I suppose I am getting old; I've been finding it rather hard to get up in the morning," taking the pipe from his mechanical arms, Boush raised an eye curiously when one of his students had cleared their throat "Actually, you're just pretty lazy, sir," raising his hand, Squee had stated his opinion nonchalantly; a chorus of laughter filled the room.

Furrowing his brows, the Physics professor shrugged "True, true," nodding his head in agreement, Boush prompted his mechanical arms to bring out a large textbook "I'm not in the mood to teach; but am entitled to," sighing in defeat, the professor straightened his posture and opened the book "Let's start with the basics; what is measurement?" scanning through the class, Boush raised an eyebrow curiously.

Slightly smiling, Rubick couldn't believe at how suddenly professional the atmosphere within the room was. Measurement, huh? A smirk appeared on the raven haired student's face "Anyone?" about to raise his hand, Rubick furrowed his brows when someone had beat him to it. Nodding his head in agreement, Boush prompted the student to share their answer.

"Measurement is the process of observing and recording the observations that are collected as part of a research effort," prompting his mechanical arms to write on the board behind him, the Physics professor nodded, gesturing at the student to sit down "Ah, yes. Thank you, Lanaya," sitting down graciously, the female student scribbled something in her little notebook before returning her attention towards the professor.

Reclining in his chair even further, Boush placed his arms behind his head "Why is measurement important?" asking the question to no one in particular, the professor's lips curled up into a smile. Raising his hand without second guessing, Rubick was slightly irked that someone had stolen his thunder. Nodding at the raven haired student, Rubick was about to stand up when the professor had cleared his throat.

"To all of you who have not yet seen mister Rubick here; here he is," prompting his mechanical hand to gesture towards the raven haired student, Boush took the pipe from the other hand "He's a new student and I suggest you make him feel comfortable," a smirk appeared on the professor's face "But it's never nice at DOTA University,"

Gulping audibly, Rubick couldn't help but feel nervous at the ominous message; it would seem that all the employees keep on saying the same things. Exhaling the smoke as his mechanical arms waved it off, Boush cleared his throat "Continue," blinking a few times, Rubick nodded "The importance of measurement is to remove ambiguity; to be able to communicate a value so that the receiver of the information will get a grasp of how long, short, tall, wide, et cetera a thing is," trying to get a glimpse of this 'Lanaya' person to discern their reaction, Rubick had the mistake of not really knowing what he or she looked like.

"Well said," nodding in agreement, the professor prompted Rubick to sit down "Now, why do you think we're studying about this?" raising a brow curiously, two hands suddenly shot up, successfully making the Physics professor grin "Alright, Lanaya; why?" standing up and closing her notebook, the female student cleared her throat "For it is fundamental in partaking in future experiments that deal with distance, temperature, volume and the like,"

Furrowing his brows, Rubick eyed the female student curiously, only for his frown to melt into befuddled blinking. Her braided black hair fell up 'til the middle of her back, while her slightly pinkish skin slightly shone in the lighting. She wore a short sleeved dark green shirt and dark blue jeans. What Rubick found strange was the slightly puffy pink scarf that she wore on her neck; which slightly covered her lower face.

"Ahem," clearing his throat, Boush raised a brow curiously "Yes, Rubick?" at the mention of his name, the raven haired student blinked his eyes owlishly "Would you like to add anything?" noticing that he still had his hand raised, Rubick pursed his lips "Ah, yes," hearing a snicker, the raven haired student turned his head towards Skitskurr; who was stifling a laugh.

"Because it is fundamental for everyday life," clearing his throat, he stole a quick glance at the raven haired female; nostalgia and irritation clouding his sense "To, uh, determine how much money we use, how much time to work on assignments, how much to eat," furrowing his brows, Rubick was feeling rather irked; he knew he had seen Lanaya somewhere before- it was at the tip of his tongue.

Raising a curious brow at how strangely Rubick acted, Boush was about to prompt the two students to sit down when Rubick's eyed had suddenly lit up with glee, a wide smile on his face "I remember now!" all of the students looked at him curiously, all awaiting his inevitable proclamation.

"You're the girl from my dreams!" pointing towards Lanaya, the female student furrowed her brows slightly, a small tinge of pink growing on her cheeks "Wh-what?" muttering out weakly at the comment, Lanaya blinked her eyes a few times. The room erupted into cheers and cries of amusement, and Rubick nodded to himself with pride; he finally remembered where he first saw those azure eyes.

Embarrassment filled his system when he had understood the gist of the situation "Uh, I mean, it's-" seeing Rubick fluster fuelled the cheering of the other students; needless to say, Rubick's face was almost as pink as Lanaya's scarf. Shaking his head in amusement, Boush cleared his throat "I like how you're honest and all, Rubick-" the laughter and cheering refused to die down; Skitskurr even stood up and started nudging Rubick with his elbow.

"But please do refrain from confessing to your classmates in the middle of a lecture," reclining on his seat, a smug grin appeared on the professor's face "And it's only the second meeting to boot," wanting the earth to just come and swallow him up, Rubick pursed his lips and averted his gaze from Lanaya "You two may sit down now," prompting the two raven haired students to sit, Boush coughed as he wrongly took a puff of his pipe.

Wiping away a tear of mirth, Boush chuckled "There's no way I can continue this lesson with as much professionalism as before; this is too much," as the room's cheers escalated, Skitskurr draped his arm around Rubick's shoulder "Gutsy move right there, Ru," about to voice his complaint, he was cut off from Razor's bellowing laugh "Indeed. You even went for the impossible quite one, as well," furrowing his brows, Rubick couldn't believe what he had just gotten himself into.

Shaking his head, the professor continued to smoke from his pipe "Just go do whatever it is you kids want to do," propping his legs up on the desk in front of him, the professor sighed in relief "This early dismissal is courtesy of mister Rubick and miss Lanaya; do congratulate them," the cheering escalated and the students divided into two; flocking towards the two raven haired students.

Burying his face on the desk, Rubick covered his head with his hands. A myriad of questions entered his ears; questions revolving around love advice, confidence, and other related aspects. Groaning, Rubick sighed in disbelief "Great," he muttered.


	11. Inattentive

**INATTENTIVE**

* * *

"Hey, Ru-" flinching at the mention of his name, Rubick turned his head around slowly; hoping his friends would at least stop teasing him about the scene he had made earlier "Yeah?" mustering the best smile that he could possible make at the current situation, the raven haired student gulped audibly; he couldn't help but feel like things were about to get worse.

Struggling to drape an arm on Rubick's shoulder, Skitskurr's grin did not recede. All of his friends looked at him with sheer glee; making his embarrassment lessen a tad bit "One word Ru: _smooth_" laughter erupted amongst the four friends accompanied by Rubick's nervous chuckling "I suggest you lay off whatever it is you're smoking," wiping away a tear of mirth, Visage snickered; his almost always lifeless eyes seemingly sparkled a glint of mischief in them at that moment.

"I, too, suggest that you keep your feelings to yourself as of the moment," grinning, Razor raised both of his eyebrows playfully "It is as they say:' It's always the quiet ones'," furrowing his brows in confusion, Rubick raised a finger in protest "First of all, I don't smoke," huffing in slightly in irritation, the raven haired student shook his head "And second, it was just a slip of tongue,"

Silence encompassed the group for a good half-minute or so, before boisterous laughter ripped through the air " _You're the girl from my dreams!_" mockingly mimicking Rubick's voice, the aquamarine prankster scurried away when the older Physics major had tried to grab onto him. Placing an arm on Skitskurr's shoulder, the other raven haired student prompted him to stop "I've still got a class to attend to," waving at the others goodbye, Visage went on his way towards the Main building.

"Likewise," slightly jogging towards Science building, Razor quickly disappeared from eyeshot; leaving the three to themselves "Got no classes anymore," shrugging, Skitskurr grinned "I'm going to sleep the whole afternoon," skating away, the prankster waved at the two goodbye. Waving at the bluenet, Rubick furrowed his brows at the deathly-passive Puck. Calm and sleepy nougat eyes seemed to go as far as the other end of the school; her lack of eye bags, however, made the raven hair student curious as to why she looked so sleepy.

"So, when are your classes?" hoping to break the awkward silence, Rubick fiddled with his fingers. Being together with Skitskurr's group had certainly made them all acquainted; even to the point where Rubick felt like he wasn't just 'one guy who joined them yesterday'. The never ceasing smile on Puck's face didn't help the situation one bit. Blinking a few times before looking at green orbs intently, the bluenette's smile grew "I don't remember,"

Blinking a few times in disbelief, Rubick sighed in exasperation "My next class is at eleven," Puck's smile didn't seem to let up "Do you mind joining me 'til my next class?" nodding her head in agreement, a few strands of her blue locks almost covered her face entirely; which Rubick found rather adorable.

* * *

"How did you guys meet?" raising a brow curiously at the question, nougat eyes observed Rubick carefully "You guys seem to be a ragtag bunch of misfits, in my opinion," slightly giggling at her seniors brutal honesty, Puck smiled "It was around a year ago," a fond smile crept up her childish features "I was accepted into the University and my parents immediately sent me off,"

A tinge of sadness mixed with her juvenile features "I was uncertain and afraid of what would happen to me in such a strange place," stopping in his tracks for a moment, Rubick raised a brow curiously whilst intently listening to the bluenette "Things were quite lonely for me the first few weeks," sighing contentedly, Puck smiled brightly "One thing led to the other and I befriended Skitskurr and company,"

Unconsciously smiling, Rubick smiled as well "That's good," a comfortable silence fell upon the two as they walked along the back of the main building. To their immediate left was the sports field; the sharp sound of a whistle signalled that there was something going on there at the moment. Eyeing the field carefully, Rubick continued walking and averted his gaze; they were too far away to even see anything properly.

Turning around the corner that led to the cafeteria, Rubick turned around when he had heard Puck clear her throat "Why do you like Lanaya?" at the mere mention of her name, the raven haired student could feel his cheeks heat up "What?" blinking a few times curiously, Rubick felt bad that he wanted to lie to Puck.

"It's, uh, nothing, really," rubbing at the back of his head nervously, Rubick sighed and groaned "I don't quite understand, but I think I've seen her in one or two of my dreams," giggling, the bluenette smiled "You're such a strange person, Rubick," sighing in exasperation, the raven haired student couldn't help but grin "Yeah, I know,"

Walking towards the 'Rax, Puck's smile was slightly covered in mischief "Lanaya is my roommate," blinking his eyes a few times, Rubick was about to speak when the bluenette had beat him to it "If you ever want to talk to her, feel free to ask me," entering the white building, Puck disappeared out of eyeshot while Rubick's mind tried to process all the information that was fed to him.

Groaning in irritation, Rubick huffed "Just one sentence," shaking his head in disbelief, the raven haired student snorted "I suppose I'll take Puck on her offer in the near future," grabbing onto his side, Rubick slightly furrowed his brows when he had felt something seem out of place. Checking on his body and searching for his pockets, the raven haired student's eyes widened in realization.

"My documents," standing there for a good minute or so, Rubick's shoulders slumped in disbelief "I-I must have left them somewhere," gritting his teeth, he looked around in vain "But where?!" wracking his thoughts for an answer for his current predicament, Rubick closed his eyes and furrowed his brows in absolute concentration.

The bruise on his back had suddenly started throbbing; making him hiss in irritation "Think, think," tapping at his chin, he was pushed over the edge by the constant pain that his back had graciously provided him with "Damn bruise," eyes lighting up in glee, Rubick snapped his fingers "That's it!"

Nodding to himself, he quickly made his way towards the entrance field "I lost it when I was speaking with the prefects," slightly quickening his pace, Rubick furrowed his brows when he could not see the bright yellow folder anywhere "I should go ask the guards," stopping at his tracks at the thought of speaking with that mean looking guard lady he had spoken to yesterday, Rubick gulped audibly. The thought of the school warden Banehallow didn't help as well.

Making his way towards the main building, the raven haired student hoped that the janitor he spoke with yesterday had at least seen the folder. Making his way up the steps, he stopped at the final one and huffed for air. Wiping away a bead of sweat from his brow, Rubick eyed the large building carefully, hoping that the janitor was just nearby.

With the janitor nowhere to be found, Rubick was about to entertain the idea of asking the lady guard about his documents when he had noticed someone sitting on the desk on the far end of the room in the corner of his eye. Walking towards the person, he noticed her wavy greenish-blue hair wrap itself around her face; which was rather pale. Wearing a wine-red business suit that wrapped around her figure rather nicely, the raven haired student was given enough cleavage to make his thoughts open for imagination.

"_Oui_?" a smile crept up her pale features; not even bothering to look at the student. With her attention solely fixed upon the various papers that she was signing and reading, the woman raised a brow curiously when Rubick hadn't replied "What can I do for you?" resting her pen near the neat stack of papers to her left, the woman's accent gave away her foreignism.

"Ah, I, err," rubbing at the back of his head sheepishly, Rubick gulped audibly. The woman giggled, giving the student a sincere smile "You're the new enrolee, _oui_?" nodding his head in agreement, Rubick smiled nervously "I suppose you've already gotten your papers?" the mention of his documents snapped him back to his senses "Actually, about that," shrugging, Rubick inhaled "I kind of… lost my documents,"

Looking at him curiously, the woman smiled "Ah, that is not a problem," returning her focus on her papers, the woman continued to speak to Rubick "Go speak to counsellor Nerif; I'm sure he's _seen_ your documents somewhere," shaking her head slightly, the woman smiled "He's at the fourth floor; exactly two floors above the clinics," furrowing his brows in confusion, the raven haired student turned around to ascend the large staircases of the main building.

"Seen?" snorting in disbelief, Rubick started climbing the steps "These people get stranger by the day," steeling himself as to what kind of person this 'Nerif' is, the raven haired student stole a glance from the clock above the woman's desk "_Nine twenty-eight_," shrugging, Rubick ascended at a leisurely pace; it wasn't like he was going to be late for his next class.

* * *

A/N: I apologize greatly for the lateness of this update; things have gotten quite hectic for the past few weeks and I hadn't been able to invest time in writing as much as before.


	12. Counsel

**COUNSEL**

* * *

Reaching the second floor with relative ease, Rubick eyed the clinics curiously. Remembering the two peculiar doctors made a small smile creep up the raven haired student's features. Turning around towards the staircase that led to the third floor, Rubick sighed in disbelief at the thought of choosing an organization to join "I'm graduating; I don't see the need to join," shrugging and frowning whilst ascending the stairs, the raven haired student's ears perked up at the sound of murmuring.

The third floor was grandiose; and that was an understatement. Ascending higher, he had a better view of the ornate and judiciously crafted ceiling. Paintings of various art movements that complemented each other well littered the walls. Judging from the various murmurs and equally distributed rooms, Rubick assumed that this was where classes were held.

Snapping back to his senses, the raven haired student quickly went up the stairs; determined to at least get an idea where his documents may be. The fourth floor was relatively quiet; and the rooms were lesser in number and had larger doors. Remembering that the clinics where on the opposite end of the stairs, Rubick ambled onwards the lone double-doors adjacent to the stairs.

Furrowing his brows in curiosity, he noticed that this room did not have any neighbors. There were about five rooms in this floor, including the one he was in front of. The four others were in adjacent pairs; shrugging, Rubick's ears perked up when he had heard some murmuring from inside of the room in front of him. Pressing the side of his face on the wood of the door, Rubick furrowed his brows as he tried to discern the voices.

"Thank you, Nerif!" jumping away from the door in surprise, Rubick fell to the ground on his behind. A woman had abruptly exited the room via the other door. Gulping audibly, the raven haired student hoped dearly that the woman didn't notice him trying to eavesdrop on her conversation "I'll be sure to drop by again for more help-" blinking curiously at the person on the floor in front of her, the woman raised a brow and offered her hand to help "Are you okay?"

Smiling sheepishly at the woman, Rubick graciously accepted her help "I am, yes," light green eyes scanned the raven haired student carefully, a smile appearing on the woman's lips "Ah, you must be the new enrolee," while their hands were still connected, the woman found the opportunity to shake it "Welcome to DOTA university," tapping his shoulder, the woman started descending the stairs "I'll be sure to drop by again, Nerif!" as the sound of heeled steps receded, Rubick furrowed his brows at how strange the woman sounded.

Entering the room cautiously, the raven haired student surmised that the woman he had just met had a similar accent to the woman working on the desk on the ground floor. Nodding to himself in agreement, he closed the door behind him. The relatively dimly lit room showed no extravagance compared to the outside. The wall were painted in bluish-gray paint, a few chairs were neatly arranged to his immediate left.

"I have been expecting you, Rubick," a voice cut through the silence, and Rubick flinched in surprise. Similar to the clinics, there was a single cubicle to the left of the room. Approaching the said space carefully, the raven haired student peered from the opening "Please, take a seat," a man with thin blue hair sat alone inside the stall, with a desk in front of him that contained nothing more than a few pieces of paper and a pen.

Waving his arm towards the chair in front of his desk, the man smiled "I suppose you're here to ask about your missing documents?" leaning one elbow on the desk, the man cupped his right cheek with his hand. Furrowing his brows in disbelief, Rubick went over to the chair and took a seat "How did you-" snorting, the man slightly grinned "I'd rather that you not know,"

Furrowing his brows even further, Rubick was about to ask a question when the man had spoken again "Professor Mortred," the man quipped, playing with the pen using his free hand "She teaches Criminology; I guess you can say that it would _stain_ her reputation if she didn't know much about everyone in this school,"

With his mouth falling slightly agape, Rubick was confounded at the mere thought that this man was able to answer his questions in a pre-emptive manner. Opening his mouth to ask how the man knew he was going to ask about the woman he had met earlier earned him a mischievous chuckle from the bluenet "Let's just say that I've seen what will happen; in different _ways_,"

Pursing his lips, Rubick felt his irritation quickly drain away. Gulping audibly, the raven haired student felt rather uncomfortable in the presence of this… _person_. If he even were one. Chuckling again, the man shook his head "I'm sorry that you've just wasted your time going here; warden Banehallow knows where your documents are,"

Stealing a glance from the quaint little clock on his desk, the man smiled "You have fifty minutes 'til your next class," reclining on his chair, the man's smile did not let up "I suggest that you ask Luna, the gatekeeper, where warden Banehallow is," quickly standing up from his seat, Rubick was ready to make a run for it; this guy just gave him the creeps.

"He doesn't usually come out during the day; I'm sure Luna will know where he is," shrugging, the man shooed him off. Quickly advancing towards the doors, Rubick stopped in his tracks when the man had cleared his throat "I am Nerif, the guidance counsellor," furrowing his brows, the raven haired student raised a brow curiously; who introduces himself _after_ the conversation?

Something akin to a chuckle suddenly entered Rubick's ears "If you ever need any help with Lanaya, don't be shy to ask," embarrassment filled his system, and the raven haired student felt his cheeks heat up "Don't stray too far off at night, as well," exiting the room with his face flustered, Rubick sighed in disbelief "I'm sure he just heard that from some of my classmates or something similar," trying to reassure himself, he thought that professor Boush probably mentioned it during break time at the faculty room.

Shaking his head violently, Rubick took a large whiff of air, exhaling it slowly. Going down the steps, the raven haired student remembered what Nerif had said about that female professor he had met earlier "What did he mean getting her reputation stained?" furrowing his brows slightly in thought, Rubick shrugged it off and continued to descend the stairs.

Thinking about the various things that the man had just fed to his brain, Rubick was cut off from his thoughts when the woman at the desk on the ground floor had cleared her throat "So, how was _monsieur_ Nerif?" the woman smiled; a cup of coffee replaced the neat stack of papers that were on her desk earlier "Err, he was, ugh…" the woman giggled at Rubick's loss for words, giving him a sympathetic look "_Pas de soucis_, everyone finds _monsieur_ Nerif rather strange; even me,"

A smile crept up Rubick's lips; looks like he found the weirdest person in the whole school. As of now, that is "Thank you, miss…?" smiling nervously, the raven haired student felt a bit sheepish because he didn't even bother to ask for her name earlier "Krobelus," smiling, the woman took another sip from her cup "Thank you, miss Krobelus," waving at the woman, Rubick turned around to leave the building.

Exiting the large doors, the raven haired student gulped audibly "Warden Banehallow, huh?" shaking his head, Rubick groaned "I just hope he isn't as scary as the others say," sighing in exasperation, Rubick walked along the front of the building at a leisurely pace; fishing for the schedule that he made from inside of his pockets.

Smiling, the raven haired student couldn't help but chuckle "Biology," stuffing the piece of paper inside of his left pant pocket, Rubick snorted "Note to self: do not sit beside any of the Techies,"


	13. Development

**DEVELOPMENT**

* * *

"What in the blue blazes would make you think that I know where that _dog_ is?" nervously taking a step back, Rubick couldn't believe that he could literally feel the contempt in her voice. Purple orbs bore into his very being, akin to that of a predator waiting for an opportune moment. Swallowing his own spit, the raven haired student felt his heart beat faster in anticipation of what the gatekeeper would do.

Opening his lips to explain, Rubick chose his wording carefully; hoping to the gods that the woman wouldn't tear him limb from limb "I, uh, heard from counsellor Nerif that you'd, err, know where warden Banehallow is," raising a brow curiously, the woman's features softened up a bit "Hmph, that good for nothing chatterbox," irritation replaced anger; and Luna furrowed her brows "He's busy. Come back here later at night,"

Shooing the student off, the pale haired guard pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head slowly. Smiling nervously and walking as fast as he could, Rubick glanced at his back from time to time; for fear that the lady guard would be following him or something similar. Nearing the Science building, the raven haired student sighed in relief "I guess he wasn't lying, after all," entering the building and checking on the clock that hanged above the doorway, he ambled towards room four.

"I wonder what's going on between Luna and Banehallow?" asking no one in particular, Rubick entered the room. All eyes fell upon him, and the raven haired student couldn't help but feel that they were all looking at him for a rather long time. Erupting into cheers and laughter, some of the students flocked towards the now perplexed Rubick.

"You going to pull another 'You're from my dreams' trick again?" draping his arm around the raven haired student's shoulder, the blond from earlier this morning, Clinkz, grinned from ear to ear. At closer inspection, numerous parts of his face had burn marks; his hand seemed wrinkled due to all the scars "Are you dense?" furrowing his brows and snorting, the short dark green haired student from the same class this morning smirked condescendingly "That won't work on Strygwyr,"

"Hey, man," rubbing at the back of his head sheepishly, Squee smiled apologetically "Sorry for yesterday; hope ya didn't get hurt or somethin'," rushing up to their brother, the Techies looked at him with awe "What you pulled earlier was gutsy- I like it!" the scrawniest of the three exclaimed, shaking Rubick's hand "So, what have you in store for us this time, o early ender of classes?" the student who wore the white mask quipped, his accent clearly indicating that he wasn't from around these parts.

"I'm flattered, really," smiling nervously, the raven haired student shook his head "Earlier was just a slip of tongue," shrugging, Rubick furrowed his brows "I wasn't really expecting professor Boush to end his classes early," silence fell upon the group and Rubick gulped audibly; he hoped that he didn't just get himself into a beating.

Nodding his head knowingly, the dark green haired student cupped his chin "He plans on furthering his relations with Lanaya," a chorus of "Ah's" and "I get it's" went around the group "That's not what I meant-" raising a finger towards the raven haired student's mouth, the dark green haired student shook his head while smiling "It's alright; if it's space you want- it is space that you will get,"

Flicking his fingers, the dark green haired student gestured that the others come near him. Raising a brow in curiosity, Rubick, approached the murmuring group; but wasn't able to hear any of their conversation due to the fact that they quickly dispersed and returned back to their seats. Well, at least to their new seats, that is.

Noticing that some of them were whispering to other students greatly intrigued the raven haired student. Most of the occupants of the room shifted and changed places; apart from three people. Near the windows sat three girls: a blonde, a redhead, and Lanaya. With his gaze landing upon the black haired female, Rubick couldn't help but gawk for a few seconds.

The blonde that sat behind Lanaya giggled at his reaction, gesturing at her companions to turn and look at Rubick. Blinking a few times when three pairs of eyes fell upon his own, the raven haired student quickly looked away and scanned over the seats to find a vacant one. Furrowing his brows when he noticed that he couldn't find a single vacant seat and even some of the students were lying down on at least three chairs, Rubick's eyes widened in realization.

Eyeing the vacant chair right next to Lanaya's made the raven haired student's heart beat erratically. Seeing the dark green haired student's gestures from the corner of his eyes, Rubick pursed his lips into something akin to a pout. The dark green haired student was excessively gesturing towards the empty chair; a large and mischievous smile on his lips.

Groaning slightly, the raven haired student noticed that most of the students were stifling their laughter. Begrudgingly taking a seat beside the black haired female, Rubick gulped audibly as he felt his anticipation build up. With posture erect, a few beads of sweat trickling down his face, and utmost focus to not look to his right, the raven haired student slightly flinched in surprise when someone had started talking to him.

"Hi, there!" judging from the voice, it was female. Slowly turning his head towards the right, he slightly calmed down when he noticed that Lanaya was preoccupied with writing on her small pink notebook. Going farther, Rubick made eye contact with the blonde; her dark blue eyes shimmering with excitement. Wearing a blue jacket with purple stripes and white fur, she looked like she was preparing for a blizzard; her brown boots with similar white fur and dark blue jeans accentuated her get-up even more.

"Err, hi," smiling nervously and swallowing his own spit, Rubick felt a single drop of sweat fall down on his lap "I'm Rylai, nice to meet you!" giggling, the blonde beamed towards Rubick "P-pleasure," smiling nervously, the raven haired student wiped at his brow using the back of his arm "Is it hot?" raising a brow curiously, Rylai titled her head sideward a bit "It's certainly freezing for me!" clasping her hands together, she started rubbing at her sides for emphasis on her point.

"Your opinion," snorting, the redhead to Lanaya's right shook her head. Brilliant orange hair glowed in the sunlight, her golden orbs shined mischievously. Sporting a crimson sundress that made it hard for the eyes not to stare and the brain not to imagine; she certainly showed enough skin for the blonde and herself. Wearing similar colored skinny jeans and similar but fur-less boots as the blonde, Rubick blinked a few times when he noticed that he was staring.

"Lina," winking at the raven haired student when he had moved his eyes towards her face, the redhead smirked "What, you going to go for something cheesy again?" pursing his lips, Rubick shook his head violently "I, uh, that was just-" closing her notebook and placing the pen neatly on top of it, Lanaya turned towards her left slowly; azure orbs boring into his soul.

"I am also curious," absolutely mesmerized by her eyes, Rubick couldn't help but feel engrossed at them. Feeling his heart beat faster and his muscles tense up, the raven haired student only blinked; he couldn't even feel his hands. Scrutinizing him carefully, Lanaya raised a brow curiously when she had noticed that Rubick's ears had started turning red "Interesting," smiling and stifling a laugh, the black haired female squinted her eyes a bit.

Biting at her lower lip, Rylai was absolutely entertained at how petrified the raven haired student looked "Oh my," shaking her head, Lina chuckled at the spectacle that is a stunned Rubick "I, uh-" struggling to even word things properly, the raven haired student could only hear the thumping of his heart "Yes?" a slightly sly smile crept up Lanaya's lips "You weren't so shy earlier this morning,"

The simple sound of her voice drove him past the point of rational thought; he almost felt like he was going to faint. The sudden opening of the door made all of the students avert their attentions from Rubick "Good morning, class," strutting in, the Biology professor stopped in front of the desk at the front and cleared his throat.

"I apologize for dismissing you early yesterday," turning his gaze towards the Techies, a sound akin to a growl escaped his lips "Let me get started so that we can catch up with what we've missed from yesterday," the sound of the professor's voice snapped Rubick back to his senses. Blinking owlishly at the professor, the raven haired student shook his head a few times.

Sighing in disbelief at what he had just done; or lack, thereof, Rubick groaned while stealing a glance of Lanaya at the corner of his eye. A playful smile adorned her lips as she opened her notebook. Noticing something strange, the black haired student checked at the corner of her eye. When Rubick had quickly averted his gaze from her, she stifled a giggle "You still haven't answered my question,"

Sighing in disbelief, Rubick shrugged "I guess I'll just have to get back to you," neatly nestling her pen on her open notebook, Lanaya nodded "By all means; I'm rather curious as to what your answer may be,"


	14. Chemistry

**CHEMISTRY**

* * *

Biology went by rather smoothly. Professor Strygwyr continued to brief the class about himself and the subject. Jokes about Squee's exploits from yesterday were brought up from time to time; much to the irritation of the Biology professor. The raven haired student was rather irked that the dark green haired student mentioned the incident between him and Lanaya; which highly confused Strygwyr.

"You're free to go now," dismissing the class, the Biology professor sat on the chair behind his desk, reclining slightly as he stretched his legs. Taking the piece of paper inside of his pant pocket, the raven haired student raised a brow curiously "Who do you think your lab partner's going to be?" linking her arm with the redhead's, Rylai asked Lanaya giddily.

Snorting, the redhead rolled her eyes "I hope I don't get paired with Clinkz- _again_," stifling a laugh, the raven haired female raised a brow curiously "Why is that?" groaning, Lina shook her head "That jerk asks me pick-up lines any chance that he gets," giggling and clasping her hands together, Rylai beamed "Aww, that's so sweet,"

Sighing in disbelief and moving to the door to exit the room, the redhead shook her head "It would kind of be; if they weren't so damn corny," trying to absorb the information he had just gathered, Rubick snickered; who knew that introverted looking blond was actually like that.

As the number of students inside the room whittled down, Rubick stood up and tucked the piece of paper back inside of his pant pocket "Room two," murmuring to himself, the raven haired student felt rather refreshed at the scene of a slightly crowded hallway. Due to the small number of students in the University, Rubick surmised that everyone here was tightly knit.

Entering the room near the exit that was aptly labelled as 'Room 2', Rubick was slightly surprised to see that the room was rather large; surveying the laboratory, he noticed a myriad of familiar faces. Furrowing his brows at the aspect of the room looking larger than it seemed, he poked his head outside of the door, realization dawning on him when he had noticed that there was no door between room's 2 and 3.

"They're connected," nodding to himself, he returned inside of the laboratory and situated himself on the nearest stool. There were only around a dozen students inside of the room; most of them crowded together and discussing jovially about a relatively interesting topic amongst themselves.

Leaning on the table in front of him and cupping his chin with his hands, the raven haired student eyed his surroundings carefully. Clinkz sat at the opposite end of the room, his hands behind his head and his chair slightly leaning towards the wall behind him. The blond looked like he was asleep, judging from the steady rising of his chest.

To the front of Clinkz's table sat the boy that wore a mask, his erect and unchanging posture greatly amused Rubick; perhaps he was a samurai or something similar, a notion to which the raven haired student slightly chuckled. Lanaya sat with Lina and Ryla in front of the masked student's table; occupied by her quaint little notebook. Rylai talked and gestured excitedly, while the redhead snorted and nodded her head from time to time. The other students chattered gleefully, which quickly turned to silence when a lanky man in a lab coat entered the room, coughing violently.

Setting his documents on top of the desk in the front of the room, the man slicked his light-green hair back whilst clearing his throat and coughing stronger as a result "Good morning- class," stifling a cough, the man pounded on his chest and breathed heavily for a few seconds "Professor Darkbrew is currently not in-" coughing once more, the man strode to the board behind him and wrote his name.

"Deathbringer?" furrowing his brows and squinting his eyes, Rubick stood up slightly to make sure that he was reading the name right "I am professor Lesale Deathbringer," clearing his throat and forming a ghost of a smile on his lips, the sickly man covered his mouth before coughing. Again.

"I will be your substitute Chemistry professor 'til professor Darkbrew comes back," sitting down on the chair behind the desk, the man inhaled and exhaled erratically, taking large breaths and spewing slow exhalations "Might I inquire about your surname?" raising a hand as she asked the question, Lanaya's brows were in a furrow. Looks like it wasn't just Rubick who was perplexed about 'Deathbringer'.

Blinking his eyes a few times, Lesale smiled slightly and chuckled; or at least chuckled _then_ started coughing violently "I suppose most of you are aware that our surnames come from the professions of our ancestors, yes?" gasps and wide-eyed looks went to the professor's way, making him laugh a bit "Don't worry, I won't be here if I've already killed someone,"

Nervous laughter encompassed the room as the substitute professor cleared his throat "This is our first meeting, I suppose I'll let you all off rather easy and dismiss you early," cheering replaced the awkwardness that shrouded the students "But I'll have to group you all into pairs for the semester," opening a brown folder and flipping through the pages, Lesale took out a single sheet of paper and cleared his throat before coughing.

"First of all would be Viper and Pugna," a few profanities exited the lips of the short, green haired student "I can't assure that that amateur won't die in an explosion," stifling a chuckle, the professor shook his head "Please do refrain from trying to kill each other; you two _are_ graduating after all," grumbling, Pugna crossed his arms and fumed. Eyeing the green haired student carefully, Rubick snickered; he assumed that Pugna was only a second year student due to his short stature.

Announcing pairs of names that held no significance to Rubick, the substitute professor cleared his throat for the umpteenth time "Lina and Clinkz," laughter boomed throughout the room as Lina buried her face within her arms. Lazily opening one eye accompanied by an ever growing smirk, the blond at the back of the room fixed his posture and grinned from ear to ear "Hey, baby,"

Groaning, the redhead refused to entertain the pyromaniac "Is it hot in here, or is it just you?" as the laughter continued, Rubick couldn't help but join along "Just a little more and you'd be burning," leaning on the table in front of him, Clinkz cupped his chin with one hand "But you know what else is burning?" temporary silence filled the room; the anticipation was almost palpable.

"My heart. My heart burns for you," laughter and cheers soon followed suit. Placing a sympathetic arm on the redhead's shoulder, Lanaya stifled a giggle "You have to admit, that one was rather nice," cheering and slightly swooning, Rylai giggled "I don't remember him being this charming," raising her head and blowing away a tuft of hair, the redhead groaned "I don't remember him being this _obnoxious_,"

Clearing his throat, Lesale chuckled a little "Save your antics for another day, Clinkz," raising a brow curiously, the Chemistry professor looked around the room "Lanaya and… Rubick?" silence fell upon the room once more "Is this Rubick a transferee?" murmurs, laughter and giggles slowly rose from the silence "This will certainly be a curious Chemistry class," nodding to himself, the masked boy's voice cut through the murmurs.

Blinking owlishly, the raven haired student furrowed his brows. Catching a glimpse of his confused expression, Lesale smiled "Ah, right. The new enrollee," tucking away the piece of paper within the brown folder, the professor was about to speak when the blond at the back of the room had cleared his throat "It's funny how this is our Chemistry class,"

All eyes in the room fell upon Clinkz, a smug smile plastered on his face "Because, you know," shrugging, he propped his legs up the table in front of him "The last pair was just like a chemical reaction; you wouldn't know what to expect without any data," the students looked at the blond curiously; only Pugna and Lesale seemed to understand what the blond was saying.

"It's a fitting class, actually," stopping slightly to laugh, the blond's smile grew wider "Especially since Rubick and Lanaya have such _good Chemistry_," erupting into laughter once more, the class cheered at the blond. Sighing in disbelief, Rubick's shoulders slumped. It was just a few hours ago that he had announced that little blunder; and look at where he was now.

Smirking slightly, the raven haired student leaned on the table and faced the blond's direction "I'd like to say the same for you," with the laughter slightly dying down, the class turned their gaze towards Rubick "I'm glad that you're paired up with Lina; I really am," touching at his chest for emphasis, the raven haired student's smirk betrayed his somewhat innocent portrayal.

"But I suggest you lay off the pick-up lines; lest you wish to see your little 'relationship' _go up in flames_," as the laughter turned around towards Clinkz's direction, the blond blinked a few times, mouth agape. Smiling triumphantly, the raven haired student saw Lina pumping her fist in the air, giving him a thumbs up. Furrowing his brows in slight confusion, Clinkz snorted and nodded his head with a smile.

"Touché, good sir, touché," shrugging, Rubick laughed slightly "A taste of your own medicine, if I may be so bold," clearing his throat and successfully getting the attention of the students, Lesale stood up and snickered "My, I guess Boush wasn't lying when he said you were a lively lot," waving his hand as a sign of dismissal, the sickly professor exited the room along with the students, a small smile on his lips.

* * *

A/N: Terribly sorry about the late update.


	15. Night

**NIGHT**

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" furrowing his brows a bit and looking at his senior with as much persuasion his face could muster, the blond sighed exasperatedly when Rubick had raised a brow curiously and nodded his head, a small smile on his face as he spoke "I need those documents," shrugging, the Physics student reclined on the wall beside his bed rather comfortably; the pain from his back seemed to have been just a bad dream "Besides, this Warden Banehallow can't be all that bad, right?"

Smiling apologetically, the blond shrugged, turning his gaze towards their third roommate when the redhead had cleared his throat "Nothing's ever nice in this University," pushing his glasses upward, Ahrak returned his attention at his work, whilst talking to Rubick "That man is not to be underestimated," frowning at how gloomy and depressed his two roommates sounded, the Physics student shook his head and lied down on his bed "Thanks for the heads up, then,"

* * *

Blinking his eyes owlishly, Rubick furrowed his brows before abruptly rising from his bed. Eyeing the quaint desk clock that managed to fit in with the various knickknacks that littered Icarus' desk, the raven haired student's features softened up a bit when he had noticed that it was only seven in the evening. Draping his jacket over his shoulder, Rubick propped his feet onto the ground and started tying the laces of his shoes "He should be out and about right now," turning a page from his book, Ahrak commented nonchalantly, his posture and position seemingly unchanged from earlier this afternoon.

"Thanks," standing up and wearing the jacket, the Physics student raised a brow curiously "What's Luna and the Warden's relationship?" letting go of his pen and nudging his glasses downward; it was the redhead's turn to do the brow raising "What makes you say they have… _something_ going on between them?" shrugging, the raven haired senior plopped himself down on his bed "Well, I asked about my missing documents from Councilor Nerif; and he told me that the Warden was sure to have them,"

"He also told me that Luna knows where the Warden is," shrugging again, Rubick shook his head "She was pretty angry when I asked her where the Warden was," stifling a laugh, Ahrak continued on his work "It wouldn't be fun if I told you myself, right?" snorting, the Physics student nodded "Yes, that's true," standing up and reaching for the knob of the door, Rubick stopped in his tracks when the redhead had cleared his throat "Don't stray off too far," opening the door, Rubick smiled "Yeah, sure,"

Silence encompassed the room, only the ticking of the clock and the occasional click of Ahrak's pen reverberated through the relatively empty room. Tapping his pen on the table, Ahrak eyed Icarus' sleeping form and groaned in irritation. Scratching at his head and standing up from his chair, the redhead sat on his bed and put on his shoes. Sighing in defeat, Ahrak placed his pen on top of his papers and donned his brown sweater, closing the lights before leaving the room discretely.

* * *

Tucking his hands inside of the pockets of his jacket, Rubick shivered slightly as the cold night air caressed his face. Symmetrical lamp posts littered the walkways of the University; curiously enough, he had never noticed these during the day time. Walking at a leisurely pace, the Physics student couldn't help but revel in the calm of the night; though he couldn't brush off the feeling that he was being watched.

Following the lit pavement, Rubick caught sight of the main building at the corner of his eye. Momentarily stopping to assess himself of his current location, the raven haired student scanned at his surroundings; albeit with some difficulty due to the unnatural darkness that seemed to encompass the outside of the school. Squinting his eyes to get a better look, Rubick smiled slightly at the sight of the guard house near the gates.

Leaving the lit walkway in hopes of reaching his destination at a quicker pace, a chill went down his spine the moment his body had seemingly left the light. Goosebumps littered his body as he instinctively started running towards the guard house. Hearing strange noises akin to chanting, Rubick ran faster, his blood boiling in fear and anticipation of what may happen to him if he stayed in the darkness for a second longer.

Gasping for air and clutching at his chest, Rubick put his back to the wall, his eyes frantically searching the darkness for whatever it was that was _speaking_ to him. The dim lights that adorned the slightly dilapidated structure offered warmth and comfort to the Physics student as he breathed erratically. Getting hold of his senses, Rubick calmed down and shook his head "Impossible," muttering to himself in a ridiculing manner, he approached the front of the structure and knocked on the door.

"What?" a muffled and menacing voice greeted the raven haired student "I'm, err, a student," backing away slightly when the doors had suddenly swung open, successfully pushing away the darkness around Rubick, a man with graying hair and sharp canines scrutinized him carefully "What do you want?" his piercing yellow orbs bore into Rubick's soul. And he thought Luna's stare was menacing.

"I lost my documents the other day and," muttering something in a foreign language, the large man turned around and started throwing random items around "Here," growling and handing the student a yellow folder, the Warden reclined on his chair and fished out a cigarette from his pocket "Now leave me be, I still have work to do,"

Skimming through the papers, the folder did seem to contain all of his documents "But how did you-" snorting as he puffed out some smoke, Banehallow growled again "Your smell," furrowing his brows, Rubick took the collar of his shirt and took a momentary sniff of it "My… smell?" groaning and pinching the bridge of his nose, the Warden took another puff from his cigarette "You and the documents smell similar- now leave me," raising a finger and about to speak, Rubick pursed his lips and sighed in disbelief, turning around to leave the Warden to his lonesome.

Furrowing his brows at the aspect of the documents smelling like him, the Physics student neared the folder to his face; and was about to take a whiff of the 'smell' of it when Banehallow had abruptly covered his lower face with his hand, while his free hand gripped tightly on his shoulder "Hush," breaking into a nervous sweat, Rubick noticed that the Warden was retreating slowly into the guard house. Throwing the student onto the ground, Banehallow picked up his discarded cigarette and turned around "Don't open the door 'til I come back," closing the door quickly as he finished speaking, the Warden disappeared from eyeshot.

Blinking his eyes a few times in confusion, Rubick scrambled to his feet and pressed his ear towards the wood of the door; silence went on for a good minute or so before he heard the distinct growl of the Warden "You're getting rusty; get down from there," furrowing his brows, the raven haired student pressed his ear even further, in hopes of hearing better. He could've sworn that Banehallow was talking to someone-

"I was just making sure my friend wasn't dead on his first week," an eerily familiar voice spoke back to the Warden, and Rubick stuck his tongue out in curiosity, slightly opening the door to get a glimpse of who the Warden was talking to "Who? The new enrollee?" shifting his eyes towards the door of the guard house, Banehallow quickly swung the door open, making Rubick fall onto the ground.

Offering his hand to the student while growling, the Warden frowned "Didn't your father teach you that eavesdropping is bad?" graciously accepting the hand offered to him, Rubick smiled sheepishly, dusting off some dirt on his clothes when he stood up "Sorry, I was just curious is all-" remembering that he heard someone familiar, the raven haired student quickly turned his head to the side, to see who the Warden was talking to.

"Hey," with his hands inside of his pockets, Ahrak deadpanned at his senior "You got your documents?" growling, the Warden went inside of the guard house and threw the folder at Rubick "Yes, and now he goes back to the 'Rax," successfully catching his documents, the Physics student furrowed his brows "Why do you want to be alone so much?" raising a brow curiously at the question, the Warden broke into laughter "I don't want to be alone, son, I want _you_ to go back to your room,"

Furrowing his brows even further, Rubick was about to retort when Ahrak had cut him off, placing his arm on Rubick's shoulder "I'll escort him back. That'll be fine, right, Banehallow?" snorting, the Warden entered his quarters, fishing for another cigarette from inside of his pant pocket "Just be sure to come back; the principals have been wanting to see you," hissing in irritation, the redhead snapped his fingers "Crap, I forgot to come for a few days now-"

Shooing the two students off, Banehallow reclined on his chair "No excuses, just be sure to get your ass back here," turning around and tapping on Rubick's shoulder, prompting his senior to follow him; Ahrak sighed in disbelief "They're going to nag at me 'til morning," raising a brow curiously, Rubick was about to inquire about him and the principals when the redhead had cut him off. Again "You should be extra careful _not_ to wander off in the darkness during the night,"

Furrowing his brows, Rubick raised a brow curiously "Why's that?" placing his hands inside of his pant pockets, the redhead gestured with his head to follow him "Just like the thing between Luna and Banehallow, it'd be better if you manage to know this by yourself," following the redhead, Rubick contemplated about why the darkness was so dangerous. Raising a brow curiously, the Physics student noticed that he didn't feel the same unknown fear from earlier.

Reaching the lit pavement, Ahrak pointed towards the main building "I'm sure you know where the 'Rax are, right?" nodding in response, Rubick eyed the redhead curiously "I still have to go back to Banehallow," slightly groaning in irritation, Ahrak waved at his senior goodbye "Just be sure to stay near lit places during the night; he doesn't like light,"

* * *

Opening the door to his room, Rubick jumped slightly in surprise when he had heard something out of the ordinary; it sounded like a growling animal. Opening the light cautiously, the raven haired student readied his folder as a weapon; furrowing his brows as his shoulders slumped in relaxation when he had seen Icarus sleeping in the most uncomfortable sleeping position he's ever seen: the blonde's rear was raised up in the air, while his right arm was draped over the back of his head. His left hand dangled lazily from the edge of the bed, and Rubick noticed a small puddle of drool forming near the blonde's mouth.

Stifling a laugh, the raven haired student closed the lights and gently closed the door behind him. Not even bothering to remove his shoes, Rubick plopped himself on his bed, sleep quickly encompassing all of his senses. As his mind drifted off into the realm of sleep, a small voice at the back of his head murmured the same chanting he had heard earlier that night. Opening his eyes and abruptly standing up, he surveyed his surroundings as much as his eyes would let him.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and Icarus continued to sound like a dying bear. Snorting to himself, Rubick lay on the bed on his side, as sleep finally engulfed him.


	16. Ponder

**PONDER**

* * *

"He's a bit… eccentric," shrugging and raising one brow lazily, the redhead earned a snort from the two figures in front of him "Well, what would you expect from Aghanim's son?" raising a thin brow of his own, one of the two spoke with a voice slightly coated in irritation "Indeed, but how is he; personality wise?" furrowing his brows for a moment, Ahrak slightly smiled "Amiable. Gives off a magnetic vibe,"

Snorting as a response to Ahrak's description, the first one who spoke from the two sighed in disbelief "He resembles his father a bit _too _much, don't you think?" chuckling in response, the other figure tapped his fingers on the table in front of him "Relax, I'm sure he won't stand out too much with a student body like this one," hissing in irritation, the figure grumbled something under his breath and reached for something under his desk.

"He's been frequenting the school premises for a few nights now," pushing an envelope towards Ahrak that impressively stopped a few inches away from the edge of the desk, the redhead took the parcel and opened it without questions "Be sure to be on full alert; even during the day," furrowing his brows at the photos within the envelope, Ahrak tucked them back in and nodded as a response.

"We've already informed Luna and Banehallow about the matter," nodding again in response, the redhead opened his mouth to ask a question but was beat to the punch "We're afraid that you'll have to go solo for a few weeks," shoulders slightly slumping in disappointment, Ahrak replied with another voiceless nod of his head "We wouldn't want him failing academically now, right?" shrugging, the redhead turned to leave "I suppose you're right,"

* * *

"That's a bit hard to believe," raising a brow lazily, Visage continued munching on his food as he abruptly pointed his fork towards Rubick "Well, doesn't councilor Nerif _know_ everything?" taking a sip from his orange juice, the Physics senior scanned at his companion's faces, wanting to at least get a gist of what they thought of the Councilor "He has impressive foresight," remarking while nodding his head, Razor shrugged "He may have been just jesting,"

Snickering, Skitskurr poured a few drops of oil on the wheels of his roller skates "Luna and Banehallow? They hate each other's guts," smiling triumphantly at how fast the wheel would spin with a single flick of his finger, the prankster wore his skates and leaned one hand on the table "Whenever those two would be in the same room, you'd literally feel like the room would cave in at any moment,"

As laughter was passed along the group, Icarus shrugged while gorging down on his breakfast "Plush the fkat dat hesh-" poking the blond's cheek, Puck giggled "Finish your food before you speak; we can't understand you," swallowing the contents of his mouth in one go, which made most of the group shudder, Icarus shrugged again.

"Plus the fact that Banehallow is a dog type of guy," furrowing his brows in confusion, Rubick raised a brow curiously "A what?" continuing at his food albeit in a slower pace, the blond looked at his senior curiously "He likes dogs; and I recall Luna having this pet kitten or something," nodding in agreement, Rubick found the notion of the councilor lying to him to be a bit unbelievable "But you know, opposites attract; right?"

All pairs of eyes fell upon Skitskurr, who was trying to clean the oil stain on the table "And whenever they seem to get into a conversation, they always seem to bicker like a married couple," stopping abruptly and swallowing his food in a hurry, Icarus' eyes shone with understanding "But what if they were?!" now all the attention shifted to the blond "Pardon?" raising a brow curiously, Razor was rather confused as to where their conversation was going.

Shrugging, Visage furrowed his brows "That's certainly a plausible deduction," cringing, Skitskurr shook his head "No thank you. Guess what their kid would look like; nasty stare, I tell you," sipping from his orange juice, a smile crept up Rubick's lips at the notion of Banehallow and Luna being married. Skitskurr had a point, though, their child would probably be able to demoralize anyone with a single stare.

"Why don't you go ask him yourself?" smiling, Visage raised a brow curiously "Aren't you two, _friends_?" sighing in disbelief, the prankster shook his head "He'd probably have my head if I show my face to him within a few feet- literally!" fishing for his schedule within his pant pocket, Rubick eyed the paper then turned towards the wall clock that hung from above the doors of the cafeteria.

Standing up, he downed the remaining contents of his glass "Well, I've got classes in a few minutes. See you guys later," waving at his friend's goodbye, Rubick was about to leave when Skitskurr had spoken "What's your class?" taking a peek at the paper before tucking it inside of his pocket, the Physics student smiled "Philosophy, why?" raising his hand to prompt Rubick to stop, Icarus swallowed the contents of his mouth with relative ease once more "We've got the same class, wait,"

Sitting down in the same place as before, Rubick slightly cringed at the sight of Icarus literally _devouring_ the mountains of food with ease. Taking a sip from his glass of water, the blond licked at his lips and sighed contentedly "Alright, let's go!" waving at the others goodbye, Rubick tried his best not to remember what Icarus had just done; in a vain attempt of forcing himself not to puke.

"Crap," covering his lower face and looking a bit green, Skitskurr quickly stood up and rushed towards the restrooms in an impressive speed "That was… interesting," inhaling deeply, Visage pinched the bridge of his nose "Say, don't you have the same class as them?" directing his question towards Puck, the bluenette smiled blankly, only snapping to her senses when her raven haired senior had cleared his throat.

"Hmm? Oh, yes," standing up and walking towards the exit, Visage sighed in disbelief when Puck had exited the cafeteria "Do you think she does that on purpose?" raising a brow curiously, Razor downed his glass of pineapple juice and shrugged "Perhaps. Perhaps not. We will never know lest we ask her ourselves,"

* * *

"Isn't that sort of adorable?" rolling his eyes and snorting, Rubick couldn't believe that Icarus was all over the notion of Luna and Banehallow being 'secretly married' "They're probably just in the phase where they can't decide what kind of pet to keep and ended up getting both-" as the blond rambled on, Rubick snickered; he highly found the concept preposterous, seeing Luna and Banehallow's reactions respectively when the other's name was mentioned. But he found it rather amusing to an extent.

Smiling and waving his arm forward in a manner that would normally prompt anyone who sees the gesture to come closer, Icarus beamed "All aboard the Lanehallow ship!" furrowing his brows while wearing an amused smile, the Physics student snorted "The what ship?" doing the brow furrowing now, the blond smiled "It's a combination of their names; Luna and Banehallow," blinking a few times in realization, Rubick laughed heartily and started ascending the stairs of the Main building.

Well, they weren't certainly lying that Icarus was an eccentric one "What's so funny?" frowning and slightly fuming, Icarus' true feelings surfaced as he stifled a laugh "Want to come on board? You can be the first mate!" waving his hand behind him, Rubick snickered "No thanks, Captain. I'm fine on land," shrugging, the blond caught up to his senior "Suit yourself, then,"

"May I come aboard, then?" Rubick and Icarus slightly jumped in surprise when a familiar voice rang through their ears. Seemingly appearing out of nowhere, Puck tilted her head to the side, a smile on her face "Come on, then!" beaming, the blond smiled giddily "Ru didn't want to come, so I suppose you'll be my first mate!" snorting, Rubick shrugged "I guess I'm just not into Lanehallow," reaching the top of the stairs, Rubick entered the grandiose building and caught a glimpse of the secretary at the far end of the room.

Making no sense of the giddy chatter between his two juniors, Rubick raised a brow and asked a question to no one in particular, without even looking at the two behind him "Who's our Philosophy professor anyway?" raising a brow curiously, Icarus was about to speak but Puck had beat him to it "Professor Zeus," snorting and turning around while looking at Puck incredulously, Rubick furrowed his brows "Professor _Zeus_?"

"Z E U S," spelling the name out, Icarus smiled slightly "He's a rather fun professor; gives off the vibe that he _actually _lived through the same time period as Aristotle and his contemporaries," frowning a bit, Rubick smiled. Guess he'll just have to see it for himself. Ascending the glittering stairs, the two behind him continued to ramble on about Luna and Banehallow; and the Physics student couldn't help but stifle a laugh.

Reaching the third floor, a myriad of hushed voices circulated through the floor "Second room to the right," jabbing his thumb towards the door to their room, Icarus smiled "You'll understand what I told you once you see and hear him personally," pushing the door open, Icarus prompted the bluenette to enter, casually following after her. Entering the room cautiously, Rubick raised a brow curiously at the myriad of new faces that littered the room.

There were some who he recalled from previous classes, and there were some who were completely new to him. Sitting right next to Icarus who was still animatedly describing the 'cuteness' of Lanehallow to Puck, the raven haired student eyed the room carefully; noting that it was better furnished and much more shiny-looking compared to the rooms in the faculty of Sciences. He noticed the boy wearing a mask at the far end of the room, reading what seemed to be a novel that displayed bright red foreign characters on the front cover.

Slowly scanning through the various students that occupied the room, he also noticed the bubbly blonde and the provocative redhead; though Lanaya wasn't in their company. Rubick's eyes widened slightly in fear at the sight of the burly Radiant prefect at the back of the room, his large frame barely even fitting in the chair that he was sitting on. The prefect seemed to be in some sort of trance due to his closed eyes and steady breathing.

Or he was asleep; Rubick couldn't really tell. A few chairs away from the large student sat an all too familiar face. Spiky dark red hair crowned his sharp face, a toothy grin accompanying his already pompous appearance. With his long legs propped up on the support of the chair in front of him, Nevermore seemed to be plotting something; grin and all. Furrowing his brows, a smile crept up Rubick's lips as he remembered that he still had a _debt_ to pay back to the redhead.

As the door swung open, all noise and chatter died down "Alright class, let's get started," a short man with olive skin entered the room, his snow-white hair seemed unreal "I am professor Zeus," emanating a regal aura that was almost palpable, Rubick raised a brow in amusement, a small smile creeping up his lips "I shall be your Philosophy professor for the semester," slamming his hands on the table in the front of the room, the professor then smiled.

"Was what I would have said and been like if I were no fun," as laughter was passed along the students, the Philosophy professor smiled from ear to ear "Don't sweat it, kids. I'm sure you already have a handful of stressful subjects to deal with as is," the professor's voice boomed through the room like thunder, and Rubick snorted at how fitting the professor's name was.

"But I can't just let you all off the hook that easily," fishing out a bunch of papers from seemingly nowhere, a chorus of "Aww's" and groans rang through the room "It's just a simple assessment, for, well, _assessment_," going around and giving each student a single piece of paper, the professor grinned as he went back to his table "That can easily give me an overview of how you behave and act accordingly to certain stimuli,"

Laughing, the professor sat down on the chair behind the desk "There's nothing too hard there, though. Don't worry," eyeing the paper curiously, Rubick snorted "_Favorite color?"_ shrugging, he answered the first few questions with relative ease "Don't forget to place your names at the top, alright?" reclining in his chair and slightly leaning on the white board behind him, the professor grinned from ear to ear.

Furrowing his brows in confusion, Rubick was absolutely perplexed at the fifth question "_What is love?_" an image of Luna and Banehallow flashed through his head, and the raven haired student couldn't help but chuckle to himself "_To own both a cat and a dog,_"


	17. Level

**LEVEL**

* * *

"Ahrak went to visit warden Banehallow last night, too?" raising a brow curiously, Icarus had stopped plucking strands of grass, and turned his attention towards his senior "Yeah, the warden also said that the principals were looking for him or something," shrugging, Rubick opened one eye lazily, getting a whiff of the fresh afternoon air as a breeze had gone by. The two rested beneath the shade of a relatively large tree in the field in front of the main building. Rubick reclined upon the wood of the tree, one foot on the ground while the other was slightly raised, with the sole of his shoe on the bark.

Icarus sat on the grass, his hands slightly brown from all the dirt due to his grass plucking. Philosophy had ended with no setbacks. The professor collected the papers and immediately dismissed them "Heh," with a smile creeping up on his lips, Rubick found it amusing how much the professor's name really suited him "He hasn't been really that… talkative," resuming his grass plucking, the blond stuck his tongue out and started tying the strands together "He seemed rather chummy with Banehallow, though,"

Furrowing his brows and sticking his tongue out, the blond smiled at his creation "Well, he is a criminology major anyway," slightly raising up the humanoid looking doll made of grass, Icarus turned his head towards Rubick "He's probably affiliated with the Sentinel's or something," raising a brow curiously, Rubick eyed the grass toy and shook his head "The Sentinel's?" carefully placing the doll down on the ground and giving it an affectionate pat, Icarus stood up and brushed the dirt off of his clothes.

"They're sort of the specialized guard unit composed of Criminology alumni," raising a brow curiously, the Physics student crossed his arms "Banehallow personally teaches them," reaching downward for the grass doll that he made, a small smile crept up the blond's lips as he beheld his creation "So I suppose that's part of the reason why Ahrak and Banehallow know each other," nodding in agreement Rubick shrugged.

A mildly warm wind blew through the sun bathed field, the grass bending and dancing as the wind commanded it. The verdant green grass shone a brilliant brown under the influence of the sunlight, the bright yellow rays illuminating the field. Slightly squinting his eyes due to the noon day sun, Rubick straightened his posture from the bark of the tree "I've got classes in a few, how about you?" shaking his head, Icarus smiled "That was my only class for the day,"

Furrowing his brows, Rubick pursed his lips at the notion "What year level are you, anyway?" raising a brow curiously, the blond snorted "I'm a second year Astronomy major," furthering his frown, the Physics major was confounded at the notion of having only _one_ subject in a day "You're joking, right?" shaking his head with a slightly mischievous smile on his face, Icarus made a crossing motion on his chest "Cross my heart and hope to die,"

Raising a finger whilst smiling, the blond nodded "Lower level students tend to have only a few hours of class per week," shrugging and pointing the raised finger towards Rubick, Icarus tilted his head sideward a bit "Compared to graduating students like yourself; who more or less has around three classes minimum every day," furrowing his brows in contemplation, Rubick couldn't believe at how rather carefree the University was about academics.

"Hmm," the thought of academics suddenly brought up the whole 'faction wars' jazz in Rubick's head "Tell me," muttering under his breath, Rubick frowned slightly "Which faction are you part of?" picking up the grass doll and looking up at his senior, Icarus blinked a few times "Radiant, why?" the mention of the word 'Radiant' sent chills down the Physics student's spine; at mere recollection of the beating he had experienced first-hand from the prefects.

"Any particular reason as to why you chose the Radiant?" shrugging at the question, Icarus smiled "It gives off a sunny vibe, don't you think?" snorting at the notion, Rubick creased his brows and sighed in disbelief "I suppose," beaming at his senior, Icarus' eyes shone with an unspoken question "What?" smiling nervously, Rubick backed away slightly at the blond's rather creepy smiling.

"What faction did you pick?" sighing in disbelief and easing up a bit, Rubick shrugged "Haven't really picked yet," raising a brow curiously, Icarus smiled as he jerked his thumb towards the main building "I suppose it'll just come to you- but you've still got a class to get to, right?" shuffling at his feet and slightly losing his balance, Rubick smiled nervously "Yeah, I suppose you're right," waving goodbye to his roommate, the raven haired student placed his hands within the pockets of his pants.

Bowing his head down in hopes of not getting blinded by the sunlight, Rubick furrowed his brows "Why bother?" shrugging and slightly raising his head to take a look at the main building, the raven haired student smiled slightly "I suppose I'll just ask councilor Nerif about it,"

* * *

Cautiously opening the door of the classroom, Rubick beheld the similar scene of a myriad of students doing whatever it is that they pleased. The students were fewer in number compared to his Philosophy class, and Rubick was confident that he knew not a single one of them. Furrowing his brows as he noticed some of the students look at him for a moment before losing interest in him, Rubick sat on an unoccupied chair near the entrance as he felt a small surge of happiness course through his veins.

A smile crept up his lips; to think, no one from this calls would be able to berate him on his little 'slip-of-tongue' a day ago from Physics class. The opening of the back door snapped him back to his senses, making him unconsciously turn around to see who it was that entered the room. Raising a curious brow at the sight of a slightly haggard looking familiar masked-student, Rubick was sort of relieved to see a familiar face; or lack thereof.

The masked student seemed to have caught wind of Rubick looking at him, and seemed to scrutinize the raven haired student through the holes of his mask. Gracefully weaving through the haphazardly arranged chairs in the back of the room, the masked student hanged the strap of his blade on the back of the chair, resting the book that he was holding onto the armrest of the chair "I apologize for intruding," slightly bowing in an apologetic manner, the masked student sat down on his chair and neatly lowered his backpack onto the ground.

"Oh, uh, you're excused, I suppose?" opening the small book to reveal a slightly folded page, the masked student raised a brow curiously behind his mask; at least, that's what it looked like "I did not manage to catch your name, o quick ender of classes," snorting at the title the mask student had just gave him, Rubick offered his hand for the other to shake "Rubick, and you are?" graciously accepting his hand and giving it a firm shake, the mask student nodded "My name is Yurnero. A pleasure making your acquaintance, _Rubick-san_,"

Furrowing his brows at the new nickname, Rubick's frown slowly receded when he had recalled reading something regarding honorifics being used by the people who resided in Eastern Terra. Taking a quick peek at the book that Yurnero was reading, the raven haired student was flabbergasted at its contents; an alien alphabet adorned each page, and the masked student didn't seem to have much difficulty reading it.

Eyeing Yurnero's mask curiously, Rubick raised a brow at how weathered it actually looked close up. At a distance, it looked like a very light shade of beige; but at closer inspection, it was actually white, just very worn out. Orange markings lined various parts of the mask, and Yurnero looked up in curiosity because he felt like he was being observed "Is something the matter, _Rubick-san_?"

Shaking his head, Rubick smiled sheepishly "Ah, it's nothing," Yurnero seemed to be scrutinizing Rubick's face, but quickly returned to his book afterwards "I'd prefer if you'd just refer to me plainly as 'Rubick'," closing his book and nodding, the masked student made a sound of agreement "Of course, _Rubick-san_,"

Furrowing his brows, Rubick shook his head "Just 'Rubick', alright?" nodding his head once more, Yurnero seemed enthusiastic "_Hai, Rubick-san_," inhaling a large amount of air, the raven haired student slightly slapped his face, a small albeit irritated smile crept up his lips "Is something the matter, _Rubick-san?_" pinching the bridge of his nose, Rubick shook his head.

* * *

A/N: Terra is what I've decided to call their quaint little world; for anyone who was confused.


	18. Faith

**FAITH**

* * *

"Gladly, _Rubick-sa_-" pursing his lips when the Physics student had glared at him, Yurnero bowed his apologetically "It's rather hard to just get rid of this honorific thing," shrugging, the masked student sighed "I shall try my best to still my tongue," shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose, Rubick waved his hand "Ehh, it's fine," waving his hand in a dismissing manner, Rubick sighed "I suppose I should be the one to do the getting used to," the classroom seemed to have buzzed with more life, as the chatter of the students had increased significantly compared to when he had entered the room earlier.

He and Yurnero had a friendly chat about the masked student's homeland, how strangely diverse their culture was; all the while reprimanding Yurnero whenever he would attach an honorific to Rubick's name. Sighing in defeat and slightly groaning, the raven haired student slumped in his seat; he supposed it was kind of nice being referred to with an honorific. When the door had suddenly swung open, the classroom was covered in silence for a few seconds; before erupting back into its previously noisy exuberance.

Raising his brows curiously at the sight of a familiar face, Rubick squinted his eyes in hopes of getting a better look at the professor "Ah, that's-" writing his name on the board using a marker, the professor turned around, a broad smile on his lips "Alright class," his voice boomed throughout the noisy room, drowning out the chatter of the students "I'm sure all of you already know who I am," gesturing to himself, the professor jabbed his thumbed behind him, pointing towards the name that he had written.

"Professor Purist Thunderwrath; and as usual, I'll be your Theology professor," getting a good look at the professor, Rubick surmised that he was the same person who had inspected his bruise a few days ago "You're all familiar faces, I see," rubbing at his beard and smiling, Purist nodded to himself "I suppose there's no need to introduce yourselves to each other now, hmm?" raising a brow curiously when a student had raised his arm, the Theology professor nodded "What is it?"

Standing up, the student made himself be known by the whole class "With all due respect," furrowing his brows at how strange the student's get up was: he wore a purple vest similar to that of his blond roommate, but what really took Rubick's attention was his Mohawk. Rubick slightly smiled when he had thought Icarus dressed weirdly "Exchanging pleasantries with each other would be best done in one's own leisure," nodding his head and stroking his chin, Purist prompted the student to sit down "Yes, yes, I've always remembered how fidgety you were when you first introduced yourself, Magina,"

As the class laughed off to the professor's remark, Magina snorted "All jokes aside, let's get started on the class proper," groaning and mumbling under their breaths, the students fished for their notebooks and pens "-is what I would have said if I were a stingy professor," shooing the students off, the Theology professor smiled "Go on and have your break, I'm sure most of you would enjoy doing other things that listen to me rant about the great Omniscience,"

Blinking his eyes a few times, Rubick furrowed his b rows "Again?" strapping his blade onto his shoulder and wearing his backpack, Yurnero looked at Rubick curiously "Pardon, _Rubick-san_?" shrugging, the Physics student stood up "It's just that most of my first meetings in all of my subjects so far have been early dismissals," nodding in agreement, the masked student huffed "Except for that one Physics class-" glaring at Yurnero, Rubick gave him an exasperated look "_Gomenasai_,"

"Mr. Thunderwrath?" going to the front of the room and raising his hand, Rubick smiled sheepishly when the professor had looked at him "I would like to thank you for the other day; about my bruise, that is," raising a brow curiously and slapping Rubick's shoulder with unnecessary force, Purist smiled "All in a day's work, lad," smiling at the raven haired student, the professor nodded "Just be more careful next time, alright?" nodding in response, Rubick went for the door, with Yurnero waiting for him outside.

* * *

"It's a sort of 'getting used to' ceremony," nodding his head in agreement, Rubick furrowed his brows when he had noticed that Yurnero was only reading his book "So, it always happens every semester?" nodding his head without even looking at his raven haired companion, Yurnero quipped "It would even seem that the professor's themselves don't seem to notice that they've been acting like that for a few years now," taking a sip from his glass, Rubick nodded. Noticing that he was the only one eating in the tandem, he cleared his throat "Aren't you hungry?"

Shaking his head, the masked student flipped a page from his book "The only sustenance I require is knowledge," blinking his eyes a few times and slightly snorting, Rubick continued eating his food "If you say so, I suppose," a period of comfortable silence fell upon the two for a few minutes, that is, until Rubick decided that Yurnero's mask was kind of sketchy.

"Isn't it hot in that thing?" raising his head from the book, Yurnero pointed towards his mask "Yeah, that," shrugging, the masked student returned his focus towards his book "Not really. I'm used to it," finishing his food and raising a brow in a sceptical manner, Rubick shrugged "Ever tried taking it off?" nodding as he flipped another page, Yurnero neatly folded the top of the page and closed his book "Whenever I sleep,"

Furrowing his brows and placing his cheek on his palm, Rubick expected another answer "Just at that moment?" nodding, Yurnero placed his book inside of his bag "Yes," pursing his lips and snorting, Rubick couldn't believe how strange Yurnero was; but that was probably due to his culture. The mess hall was rather empty considering the fact that it was twelve in the afternoon, which was more or less lunch time. Rubick couldn't spy any of his companions, and surmised that they all still had classes.

A tall woman who sported snow-white hair entered the mess hall, seemingly looking for someone. Eyeing her curiously, Rubick slightly tensed up when their eyes had met; cold blue orbs pierced into his soul, and she seemed like she was going towards them. Gulping audibly and preparing himself for the worst, Rubick reprimanded himself for making eye contact with strangers; it was as if his father had taught him nothing about 'Stranger danger'.

The woman had stopped at their table and Rubick felt a bead of sweat trickle down his cheek. Clearing her throat, she fished something from inside of her pant pocket "This is for you," her deathly nonchalant voice cut through Rubick's ears; he could've sworn it suddenly felt colder. Looking at the woman beside their table, Yurnero graciously accepted the parcel "_Arigatou_, _Traxex-san_," sighing in disbelief, the woman had placed an arm on her hip "Just spare me the courier work and just humor her already,"

Opening the poorly decorated letter, Yurnero shook his head and folded the letter neatly "I'm afraid I am not interested as of the moment," pinching the bridge of her nose, Traxex nodded "I'm aware. But she doesn't seem to be," standing up and bowing, Yurnero shook her hand apologetically "I am sorry for the inconvenience, I'm sure she'll give up sooner or later,"

Groaning, Traxex shook her head "Easier said than done," chuckling, Yurnero took the letter and placed it inside of his bag "Best of luck," snorting, the white haired female turned around "That's supposed to be my line," as Traxex exited the mess hall, Rubick raised a brow curiously "What was that about?" sitting down on his previous spot, Yurnero fished for the letter from inside his bag and handed it over to Rubick.

The outside of the letter was a bright orange, haphazardly decorated with hearts of different colors and a poorly drawn blade. Flipping it over, Rubick was surprised at how neat the handwriting was compared to the cover; though the design of the letter itself was still rather below average. Snorting, Rubick returned the letter "Well, aren't you a ladies man," chuckling and placing the letter inside of his bag again, Yurnero shook his head "I am sure it is all just a whimsy of hers,"

"How long has she been sending you letters?" pausing for a moment, Yurnero opened his bag and looked inside "Let me check," furrowing his brows, Rubick stood up and went behind of the masked student, peering into his bag. With eyes widening in surprise and disbelief, Rubick was about to speak when Yurnero had cut him off "Around a year, most probably?" blinking his eyes a few times and shaking his head, Rubick smiled nervously "I don't think this is just a '_whimsy_ of hers', "

Looking at the Physics student curiously, Yurnero shrugged "Is that so?" stifling a chuckle, Rubick patted Yurnero on the back "How about we go visit councilor Nerif; I'm sure he'll be able to help," pausing for a moment and nodding in agreement, Yurnero closed his bag and slung it over his shoulders "Yes, I suppose that would be the best course of action," smiling, Rubick downed the remaining contents of his glass "Let's get going, then,"

Exiting the mess hall, Rubick suddenly turned towards Yurnero "What's the relationship between Banehallow and Luna, anyway?" furrowing his brows, or at least, that's what it looked like, Yurnero shrugged "Are they not married?" blinking his eyes a few times before erupting into laughter, Rubick wiped away a tear of mirth "Am I wrong?" shaking his head and patting Yurnero on the shoulder, the Physics student snickered "What makes you say they're married?"

Shrugging, the masked student shook his head "They just give off a similar feeling as you do when you're near _Lanaya-san_," pursing his lips and slightly furrowing his brows, Rubick shook his head, but was still amused at Yurnero's 'sensing' capabilities "Let's just go, alright?" lowering his head slightly, Yurnero nodded in agreement.

* * *

A/N: Many thanks to achus93 and FlameStriker123 for pointing out the little 'Astrology' thing in the previous chapter.


	19. Advice

**ADVICE**

* * *

"I hardly ever see them being in a good mood when they're together," stifling a laugh as Yurnero continued to explain, Rubick nodded his head in an agreeing manner "They always seem to bicker; but they seem the liveliest during those times," furrowing his brows and trying to soak in Yurnero's implications, Rubick shrugged "That's one more thing to inquire to councilor Nerif," smiling as he ascended the stone steps of the main building, the raven haired student squinted his eyes when he had seen yet another familiar face.

Black hair tied in a ponytail swayed in the wind, passive light green orbs shone with excitement as a small smile crept up her pale features. Eyeing the familiar looking female in a strange manner, Rubick wracked his thoughts as to where he had seen that woman before "Ah, _Mortred-sensei_," bowing ever so slightly, Yurnero successfully caught the attention of the daydreaming woman. Going into a slight pause before smiling sheepishly, the woman waved her hand "Good day, Yurnero,"

Turning to look at Rubick, the raven haired woman smiled before descending the steps; he could've sworn he heard her humming "Who was that?" raising a brow curiously as his eyes followed the shrinking figure of the woman, Rubick stopped in his tracks when he had reached the final step "That was ; the Criminology professor," raising his brow even higher, Rubick shook his head "She seems rather- _young_ to be a professor," shrugging, the masked student entered the large doors of the main building.

Eyeing the ceiling with a zealous scrutiny, Rubick still couldn't feel but amazed at how intricate the whole building looked on the inside. The desk at the far end of the room was unoccupied; though the lone coffee cup that sat on it proved that the secretary was just currently somewhere else. Ascending the shimmering spiral staircase, Rubick eyed the furnishing of the handles. Cold metal slightly tickled the skin on his palm, and the array of small glimmering stones that adorned the sides of the handle provided a rough texture as he slid his arm while ascending the stairs.

Squinting his eyes at the paintings that adorned the walls, Rubick furrowed his brows when he had noticed that said paintings had no obvious sequence; pieces of different art movements were neatly placed together, but seemed to lack any order in their placement. Slightly shuffling at his feet when he noticed that Yurnero had suddenly stopped, Rubick raised a brow curiously "What's the matter?"

Turning to look at his raven haired companion, Yurnero adjusted the strap of his blade "I've never really spoken with councilor Nerif," raising his brow higher, Rubick looked at the masked student incredulously "What year are you anyway?" moving towards the double doors, Rubick knocked softly on the wood of the door, hearing an enthusiastic grumble from within the closed room "I am a graduating Anthropology major," opening the door slightly and blinking his eyes a few times, Rubick turned to look at Yurnero with even more disbelief "You've been here four years and you still haven't talked to the councilor?"

Shaking his head, the raven haired student entered the dimly lit room; the same feeling of uneasiness clouded his thoughts as he tiptoed towards the councilor's cubicle. Closing the door gently behind him, Yurnero discarded his things on the small lounge near the entrance; carefully placing his blade on the quaint table in the middle of the two equally quaint chairs. Peering through the opening of the cubicle, Rubick jumped back slightly when he had heard the councilor laugh.

"Ah, Rubick, Yurnero," entering the room of the councilor, Rubick cautiously sat down on one of the chairs in front of Nerif's desk "I've been expecting the two of you," entering the room and sitting on the unoccupied chair beside Rubick, Yurnero glanced about, looking at the various things scattered along the councilor's office. Clearing his throat to speak, Rubick was cut off from his words when Nerif had chuckled "So, what will you inquire about?" opening his mouth to speak, Rubick was cut off, again "Banehallow and Luna? Yurnero's lovelife?"

Pursing his lips, Rubick stiffened in his seat slightly "Perhaps, your lovelife, Rubick?" stifling a chuckle, the councilor smiled mischievously "Or is it perhaps, about the _darkness_?" a glint of understanding shone in the pale blue orbs of the councilor, sending a chill down Rubick's spine "Ah, actually," speaking nervously, Rubick could feel his skin getting goose bumps. What is wrong with this man? "I jest- I know exactly why you're here,"

"As I have stated before, it would be much more satisfying for you to understand the true workings of Luna and Banehallow's relationship," shifting his eyes towards the masked student, Nerif snorted "I suggest you either accept her wholeheartedly or cut her off completely; there are no alternatives," slightly slumping in his seat, Yurnero looked down on the ground, contemplating about the right thing to do "And I also believe I've told you to be careful at night?" returning his gaze towards Rubick, Nerif shook his head.

"I must say, I am impressed to see you here before me as of this moment," furrowing his brows, Rubick shook his head "What do you mean?" chuckling, the councilor smiled "Just bring someone along whenever you're going out at night; it's much more safer that way," standing up and looking for something on the shelf behind him, Nerif continued to speak without looking at the two students "Ms. Mortred is one of my regulars," taking a book and turning around to sit down, the councilor opened the brightly covered paperback.

"She's having problems of her own, but don't worry about it too much," as Nerif flipped through the pages, Rubick noticed that all of them had no writing whatsoever. Taking a bright blue pen from a cup that housed various writing materials, the councilor started writing on a blank page, while no ink came out of the pen "Steer clear of the Dire prefects," momentarily removing his gaze from the book to look at Rubick dead in the eye, the councilor's eyes bore into him, an urgent seriousness apparent in his pale blue orbs "They don't forgive and forget- they get even,"

Smiling at his work, or lack thereof, the councilor returned his pen and stood up to return the book "I trust that I've answered all of your questions?" sliding the book back into its place and reclining on the counter beneath the shelf, Nerif smiled cheekily "Ms. Lanaya is free if you're curious-" stifling a laugh, Yurnero cleared his throat when Rubick had turned to glare at him "I won't tell you how she looks at you, though; that'd take the fun out of it," smiling from ear to ear, the councilor earned an exasperated sigh from Rubick.

"It was just a dream, alright?" snorting and shaking his head, Nerif chuckled "Dreams are manifestations of things and people that we've seen in our life; also longings and wants for one's self," shaking his head and groaning, Rubick stood up "Yeah, yeah, thanks for the advice, councilor," standing up, Yurnero bowed "A_rigatou gozaimasu Nerif-san_," reclining in his seat and smiling to himself, Nerif laughed as he heard the two leave his room "Interesting," rubbing at his chin and smiling widely, the councilor stood up "I suppose it's high time I've told the principals,"

* * *

"That was certainly- enlightening," earning a snort from Rubick, Yurnero looked at the raven haired student curiously "Is there something wrong with what I said?" raising a brow at the question, Rubick shook his head "I'm just kind of irritated that he managed to answer all our questions without us even _asking_," chuckling slightly, the masked student nodded "I must say, I am impressed by _Nerif-san's_ foresight," furrowing his brows and looking at Yurnero incredulously, Rubick snickered "Foresight?"

"_Hai_, the ability to predict something in the near future-" furrowing his brows and groaning, Rubick shook his head "I know what foresight is- I just found it amusing that you think the councilor has foresight," stopping to look at his raven haired companion, Yurnero tilted his head sideward a bit "Do you not believe in the paranormal, _Rubick-san_?" raising a brow curiously and snorting, Rubick shook his head "I'll be going to my room now, have a pleasant day, _Yurnero-san_,"

Ascending the stairs of the 'Rax, Rubick laughed at the notion of the councilor having psychic abilities or the like. Reassuring himself that Nerif probably had a great network of information and surveillance, Rubick cautiously peered into his room to check if Icarus was sleeping. The blond lied on his stomach, game console in both hands and his tongue slightly sticking out. The sound of a foreign sounding language akin to Yurnero's rang throughout the room accompanied by the clash and clang of metal.

Ahrak sat at the far end of the room, fixing his glasses on his furrowed brow. Entering the room, Rubick surmised that the brunet was studying, albeit just having some difficulty due to the noise that Icarus was making. Lying down on his bed and propping up his feet by the edge of the bed, Rubick placed both of his arms behind his head. His thoughts lingered towards Nerif's answers, and what piqued his curiosity the most was what the councilor had mentioned about the Dire prefects.

Blinking his eyes a few times as a smile crept up his lips, Rubick abruptly stood up and wore his jacket "Hey, Ahrak, know any nearby department stores?" raising a brow curiously as he averted his gaze from his notebook to Rubick, the brunet shook his head "The janitor may be able to help, though," nodding his head in agreement, Rubick turned to leave the room "He's the guy with the blue hoodie, right?" Ahrak nodded as he returned his focus back to his notebook "Thanks!" closing the door behind him with unnecessary force, Rubick rushed down the stairs, a wide grin on his face.

"They don't forgive and forget, huh?" snorting as he exited the 'Rax, the raven haired student smiled mischievously "Unfortunately for them, neither do I,"

* * *

A/N: Terribly sorry for the late update.


	20. Beginning

**BEGINNING**

* * *

"Ehh? A metal rod?" scratching at his head through the hoodie, the janitor furrowed his brows as he moved the single strand of wheat in his mouth "Yes, cylindrical in shape; around the same size as a two by four piece of wood," rubbing at his chin and shrugging, the janitor opened the door behind him, which Rubick had surmised was the said man's office "Hey, Meepo! We got any metal rods?" scrunching his brows in confusion when an exact copy of the man poked his head outward "I dunno. Lemme check,"

Reclining on the wall behind him, the janitor smirked "I'm pretty sure we got what ya need," nodding in agreement, Rubick reciprocated the smile "I don't like pryin' or nothin' but what're you gonna use that for?" stifling a laugh, Rubick tried not to smile "Oh, nothing in particular," raising a brow curiously at the student, Meepo slightly jumped when his clone had prodded something at his shoulder.

"Here ya go, Meepo," handing the metal rod to his clone, the other Meepo returned back inside of the room "Well, does this suit yer fancy?" taking the rod from the janitor with enthusiasm, Rubick smiled "Yes, it's perfect," rubbing at his head and looking at the student curiously, Meepo shrugged and turned to enter the room but was stopped in his tracks "Do you happen to have any rubber gloves as well?" sighing exasperatedly as he entered the room, Meepo groaned something from under his breath.

* * *

"What exactly is that for?" furrowing his brows and crossing his arms, Ahrak had temporarily left his studying station to observe Rubick. The raven haired student was sitting on the floor in front of his beddings, tinkering with the metal rod that he had acquired from the janitor. Icarus had also stopped his game and started to look at his senior with curiosity "Just getting even," smirking, Rubick reached for something inside of the pockets of his jacket. Placing the metal rod on the floor, Rubick started to vigorously search his pockets.

Raising a brow curiously at the rod, Ahrak had noticed that his raven haired roommate had outfitted said thing with copper wires "What are you-" raising his brow even further when Rubick had procured four similar items that were the same size of that of a coin from his jacket pocket, Ahrak furrowed his brows "Joy buzzers?" slightly snickering, Rubick placed the three on the floor and started attaching one of them near the opposite end of the rod, expertly placing it in between two strands of copper wire "Yep, for pranking purposes,"

Attaching the other three along the same position as the first, Rubick smiled as he placed a rubber glove on his right hand, firmly gripping on the part of the rod where the buzzers were aligned "You guys have electric tape?" placing the rod on his bed and standing up, Rubick shrugged "My stuff isn't here yet, so I didn't really come prepared" opening one of the cabinets near his bed, Icarus started throwing random stuff out of the open drawer "Here!" the blond smiled enthusiastically, handing Rubick a roll of black tape.

Wrapping a single layer of tape on the buzzers, Rubick applied another before cutting the tape with his teeth. Handing Icarus the tape back, Rubick held the rod and stood up, swinging it at the air "Light, I like it," sitting on Icarus' bed, Ahrak shook his head "I don't like where this is going," raising a brow curiously with a mischievous smile on his face, Rubick snickered "It's just to get even, don't worry," furrowing his brows and sighing in disbelief, the redhead shook his head "Are you sure that thing will work, anyway?"

Grinning from ear to ear, Rubick pointed the rod towards the foot of the bed; which was metal "Care to try it for yourself?" contemplating about it for a moment, Ahrak shrugged as he stood up from Icarus' bed. Going to the opposite end of the footing of the bed, Ahrak held the cold metal, anticipating something akin to a small shock. Icarus looked on with enthusiasm, shifting his expectant eyes from Rubick to Ahrak, then to Rubick again.

"No hard feelings," speaking through his grin, Rubick poked the end of the footing and pressed his gloved hand upon the part of the rod that was covered in black tape. As soon as he had done that, Ahrak quickly leapt back and started shaking his hand vigorously "What the hell?" the redhead looked at his hand and turned to Rubick; the raven haired senior was smiling mischievously "How?" looking back at his hand, Ahrak furrowed his brows; he certainly felt that jolt, and it was more than just a tickle.

"Metal is a conductor," resting the rod on his shoulder, Rubick shrugged "Guess it works, huh?" removing the glove from his hand and placing it on top of the rod, Rubick haphazardly stuffed the rod and glove underneath his pillow "I suppose that's one down," raising a brow curiously, Ahrak shook his head violently and lowered his arm "Who are you going to use that on?" snorting, Rubick placed both of his hands within the pockets of his jacket "Nevermore,"

"What?!" furrowing his brows, Ahrak shook his head "That isn't a smart move, you know," raising a brow curiously at the redhead's reaction, Rubick was about to retort when Icarus had cleared his throat "Not to mention Eredar and Lucifer-" nodding in agreement at the blond's follow up, Ahrak pinched the bridge of his nose "What exactly happened between the two of you?" sighing in disbelief and slumping down on his bed, Rubick nodded his head in a defeated manner "Kicked me in the back rather hard; I was hoping I'd pay him back with a prank,"

Looking at his senior incredulously, Ahrak was about to speak when Icarus had stifled a laugh "Sorry," the blond covered his lower face "You might get into trouble, though," snorting and reclining on his bed, Rubick shook his head "I've already been in trouble before, mind," shaking his head, Ahrak's eyes showed nothing but seriousness "This school encourages that students take care of their own problems; the higher ups only intervene if something gets out of… hand,"

Blinking his eyes a few times, Rubick laughed as he stood up "Thanks for the warning, but I won't kill him with that," turning to leave the room, Ahrak sighed in defeat as he sat on Icarus' bed "What are you going to do?" the blond asked curiously, earning him an even exasperated sigh "I'll probably keep an eye on him for the time being," taking his game console from the desk beside his bed, Icarus shrugged "What if the Dire prefects take it too personally?" groaning, Ahrak huffed "Then I suppose I'll just have to talk to… _him_,"

Furrowing his brows as he turned his game console on, Icarus was about to speak when Ahrak had quickly stood up and left the room "Well, that certainly puts my mind at ease," blowing away a tuft of hair that fell on his face, the blond stuck his tongue out as he continued playing his game.

* * *

"What faction are you anyway?" stopping his sword swinging, Yurnero sheathed his blade and sat on the floor with his legs crossed "Radiant," speaking through huffed breaths, the masked student composed himself through breathing exercises "What's the difference between the two, anyway?" leaning on the wall behind him, Rubick crossed his arms; this whole faction thing was highly intriguing him "Nothing, really," reaching for a bottle of water from inside of his backpack, the masked student slightly raised his mask, showing a lighter tone of skin compared to his body.

"So, you do have a face," slightly snickering, Rubick was surprised that Yurnero wasn't uncomfortable training with his mask on "Yes, I do," lowering his mask and returning the bottle of water, the masked student unsheathed his blade and continued his previous session "The two factions are rather peaceful, actually," raising a brow as Yurnero started to explain whilst swinging his sword, Rubick sat down on the ground "The only ones causing trouble most of the time are the prefects,"

Snickering, Rubick rolled his eyes "You don't say?" quickening his pace, Yurnero started slashing at a frantic speed; and Rubick could've sworn he saw the masked student leave an afterimage every time he slashed downward. Rubbing at his eyes to clear his vision, Rubick turned his attention towards the door when someone had entered "Ah, Yurnero, very good," recognizing the person who had entered the room, Rubick quickly stood up and straightened his posture.

"Why the tension, hmm?" calm golden orbs scrutinized Rubick carefully "Have you finished thinking?" smiling sheepishly, Rubick shrugged "Ehh, not really," sheathing his blade in a grandiose manner, Yurnero prostrated himself before the newcomer "_Xin-san_," giving an agreeing nod at the masked student, Xin discarded his blades on the table near the door "I suggest you think," smiling at Rubick, he gestured his head towards Yurnero "Continue your training, Yurnero,"

"I don't know, is there any benefit joining any of the two factions?" as Rubick spoke with Xin, Yurnero stood up and unsheathed his blade once more, starting his sword swinging with renewed vigor "I am not sure," shrugging, Xin combed back his dark brown hair "Think about it, please," raising a brow curiously, Rubick was about to ask a question when Yurnero had cut him off "There is this bi-annual tournament between the two factions, though," raising a brow curiously, Rubick's eyes widened in surprise when Yurnero had thrown his blade into the air.

Leaping into the air and performing a somersault, the masked student easily caught his blade with his right arm and fell to the ground on his feet, making a circling motion with his blade before he sheathed it "Bravo- but too showy," clapping his hands and reclining on the chair beside the table near the door, Xin snorted "One day, you'll fail," bowing apologetically, Yurnero maintained that posture as Rubick observed in a confused manner "Then you'll hurt yourself,"

"That is enough, Yurnero," waving the masked student off, Xin stood up and took his blades from the table "Heed my advice, please," looking at Rubick before unsheathing both of his blades, the brunet started spinning both of his blades in a slow manner "I suggest we leave, _Rubick-san_," haphazardly wearing a t-shirt, Yurnero slung his bag and blade over his left shoulder. Standing up and leaving the room while still confused, Rubick furrowed his brows "Why's that?"

"Whenever _Xin-san_ trains, it gets- _heated_," the whooshing of a blade could be heard from outside the room, and Rubick was tempted to try and peek; but was firmly stopped by his masked companion "I wouldn't want to do that if I were you," snorting, Rubick raised his arms in a mocking manner "Fine, fine," exiting the small building that they were just in, Rubick squinted his eyes when he had seen various people gathered together at the open field "What is this place, anyway?"

Removing his shirt and thoroughly wiping himself with a towel from inside of his bag, Yurnero removed his mask and wiped vigorously on his face "That was the prefects office's," speaking through the towel, Yurnero shook his head and wiped the inside of his mask using the same towel. Raising a brow at his currently unmasked companion, Rubick sneered "No wonder you keep a mask on; it's to ward off the ladies, huh?" dirty-yellow orbs looked at green ones with a tinge of irritation "It is just customary for my people," placing the mask on the ground and rubbing at his messy brown hair, Yurnero huffed as he reached for the bottle of water from inside of his bag.

Reclining on the ground, Yurnero downed almost half of the contents of his water bottle in an instant. His surprisingly rough features complemented his short albeit messy hair "I bet the ladies would be all over you if you didn't wear your mask," a small smile crept up Yurnero's lips, pouring the last of his water all over his face "Probably, but women are not the reason why I go to school," drying his face with the towel before fastening the mask around his face, Yurnero stood up and wore the shirt that he had discarded earlier "Unlike someone I know," smacking his masked companion on the back, Rubick's smile betrayed his irritation "It was just a slip of tongue, alright?"

"Of course it was, _Rubick-san_,"


	21. Machinations

A/N: I am sorry for the extreme delay of this chapter update.

Long story short, this past month and a half has been hectic for me; and I was unable to at least make a draft of some sort.

Anyway, I'm more or less back.

Sorry, again.

* * *

**MACHINATIONS**

* * *

"We can't afford you having another fumble like that," fuming and letting out an irritated growl, Eredar stopped abruptly in front of a jet black limosine. Taking a large breath before breathing out slowly "You're just a few months away from graduating," turning around and slicking back his maroon hair, golden orbs bore into crimson red ones "I'm sure you'll behave, hmm?"

Nodding out of discomfort, Nevermore hated it when his brother was angry; then again, when wasn't he? "S-sorry," smiling slightly at his younger brother's humbled response, Eredar opened the door to the limosine, prompting Nevermore to go inside "This isn't just for my sake, you know," entering the car right after his younger brother, Eredar reclined on the soft seating "You know how bad father's temper gets,"

Slightly shrinking in his seat, Nevermore pursed his lips "We're going back to the villa, Jeeves," as the car purred to life, the older of the two passengers let a sigh of relief escape his lips "How are your classes?" a small smile adorned Nevermore's face "They're fine, I guess," the smile on his lips quickly faded "I'm not performing as well as Terror, though," groaning in disbelief, Eredar shook his head "You know how much father detests us comparing each other, right?"

Nodding in an apologetic manner, the younger of the two passengers sighed "Where's Lucy?-" making a sharp turn, the car shook in a violent manner, the loud honking of horns rang outside "Pardon me, young masters," the elderly driver spoke without turning to look at his passengers "I am sure both of you are quite tired out from university related things," as the noise from the horns of other cars slowly died down, the limosine came to an abrupt halt.

"We seem to have ran out of gasoline," tapping at the glass that housed the speedometer and fuel gauge of the car, Jeeves exited the car "This will only take a moment," peering out of the window, Nevermore eyed the normal folk; going on with their normal routines. The setting sun covered the city in a brilliant orange light; while some of the street lamps were already lit, which gave off a faint yellowish glow "Lucy went home ahead of me," turning to look at his older brother who was doing something on his cell phone, Nevermore raised a curious brow.

"Said he was too lazy to do any prefect business," tapping at his cell phone screen with vigor, Eredar didn't even bother to look at his younger brother. Turning to look outside once more, Nevermore furrowed his brows slightly at how serene the afternoon scene looked to him. Children played at a nearby playground adjacent to the gas station, their mothers chatting with each other as they watched their offspring run and laugh.

A cacophony of people crossed the street, bringing along their office supplies, dinner for tonight or simply themselves. The neighboring buildings provided shade for the occupants of the playground, and a Nevermore couldn't help but smile to himself at the scene. Looking upward at the setting sun, a large billboard caught his attention, which made him snarl in disbelief "Hasn't father done anything about the Wraith, yet?" slumping in his seat and crossing his arms, Nevermore grit his teeth at the mere thought of that old codger.

"You know well that he's been in competition with Ostarion way before he adopted us," growling in irritation, the younger of the two huffed "Yeah, but-" placing his phone inside of his breast pocket, Eredar smiled a toothy grin "With what father's got planned, there's no way that old Ostarion would sit still," raising a brow curiously, Nevermore straightened his posture "What plan?" shaking his head, Eredar smiled mischievously "It'd be better if you heard it personally from father," furrowing his brows at his older brother, Nevermore was about to retort when Jeeves had suddenly entered the limosine and prompted the machine to life.

Whizzing by the other automobiles, the two passengers held onto the seating. Gritting his teeth, Eredar frowned "Why are you rushing, Jeeves?" changing gears and slightly slowing down, the elderly butler cleared his throat "Do pardon me, young masters-" taking sharp turns here and there, the limosine came to another abrupt halt "But your father has been wanting to see you two for a while," exiting the driver's seat and quickly opening the door for the two passengers, Jeeves bowed slightly.

"We appreciate the hasty trip back home, Jeeves, but you aren't that young anymore, you know," nodding in agreement, the elderly butler closed the door when Nevermore had exited the vehicle "I thank you for your concern, young master Eredar," approaching the pearly white gates of their villa, Jeeves spoke with the guards before the large gates had slowly swung open. Giving the car keys to a young servant, Jeeves prompted Eredar and Nevermore to follow after him.

Ascending the stone steps with the two behind him, Jeeves knocked lightly on the large double doors, which slowly opened after he had knocked. Leading them towards a large room to the right of the lobby, the elderly butler knocked on the wood of a nearby bookshelf "Your sons are here, master Tansa," sipping from his immaculate white cup while looking towards Jeeves, the large man delicately placed the cup on the small table in front of him, a large smile adorning his face "Ah, thank you, Jeeves,"

Bowing as a response, the butler quickly turned around and left "Come on in, I've got something I'd like to discuss," entering the large room, the two quickly sat themselves on their respective seats. Slightly letting his mind wander for a bit, Nevermore glanced around the large room, eyeing the towering bookcases with awe. This place was his father's study; and calling his father a book lover was an understatement. The study looked similar to the interior of the university's main building, but Nevermore thought the study looked more impressive.

"First things first, though," tapping his fingers on the armrest of his chair, Tansa raised a brow curiously at Nevermore "I heard that you got yourself into a little scuffle?" stiffening in his seat and lowering his head, Nevermore slightly nodded "Y-yes, father," taking a sip from his cup, Eredar snarled "It was instigated by Lucy, though," frowning, the tallest of the brothers grit his teeth "But those Radiant losers provoked us first!" snorting, Eredar lowered his cup onto the small table in front of him "Actually, you did that, too,"

Reclining on his chair and grumbling something from under his breath, Lucifer crossed his arms and frowned "Now, now, boys," slightly chuckling, Tansa smiled "Let's not quarrel amongst ourselves, hmm?" a unison of 'Yes's' rang through the relatively empty room "I like how you're energetic, Lucy, but you have to remember that you're affecting Never's image whenever you're doing prefect duties,"

Lowering his head, Lucifer nodded apologetically "Yes, father," chuckling, Tansa roughly slapped the tallest of the brothers on the shoulder "I should know, since I always got into fist fights with my old classmates, too," wiping away a tear of mirth, Tansa guffawed "I remembered when that old fool Ostarion would fall to the ground after one punch to the gut," smiles adorned Tansa's son's faces "But then that bastard Aghanim would come in and throw a Chemistry lab made explosive on my face!" as their father's laughter and enthusiasm grew, the brothers couldn't help but feel awkward at how their father was having fun remembering almost having his face blown off.

"Don't even get me started on Arb-" wiping away a tear of mirth, Tansa cleared his throat and drank from his cup "Anyway, I've gathered all of you here today so that you'd be aware of my little… _plan_," returning his cup on the small table in front of him, Tansa smiled "You are all aware of Lunar Industries super soldier, right?" furrowing his brows, Eredar finished the contents of his cup "The Night Hunter?" crossing his legs, Tansa nodded "Exactly. I am sure most of you are aware that he is currently in prison now, hmm?"

"Well, of course," snorting, Nevermore shook his head "He slaughtered tons of Lunar's scientists and guards; not to mention he almost killed the Scourge," pleased at how knowledgeable his sons are, Tansa's smile grew even more "But he's not anymore," furrowing his brows, Lucifer straightened his posture "What do you mean, father?" snorting, Eredar shook his head "Are you really that dense?" furrowing his brows and glaring daggers at his older brother, Lucifer was about to retort when Eredar had continued.

"He's been sighted near the university, you dingus," Lucifer and Nevermore's eyes widened in disbelief "Very well done, Eredar!" clapping and chuckling, Tansa smiled proudly at the shortest of the brothers "This is exactly it, my sons," nodding his head, Tansa reclined on his seat "I've taken the liberty of 'freeing' the Hunter and have placed him under our employ," furrowing his brows, Nevermore stood up "Are you mad? He could go rogue on us too, father," shaking his head, Tansa's smile did not let up one bit "That's where Terror comes in,"

Three pairs of eyes turned to look towards their fourth brother, who sat silently in his seat "Your little brother will take care of pacifying the beast if he ever tries to attack any of you," nodding in agreement, Nevermore slumped in his seat "But isn't Lucy enough to handle the Hunter if he ever goes rogue?" raising a brow curiously, Eredar was retorted with a shake of his father's head "Lucy can easily overpower our little Hunter; but there's one thing that Hunter is able to do that Lucy can't-"

"That's killing another person,"

* * *

"What do you mean you don't know? Aren't you a girl?" looking at Puck with disbelief, Skitskurr furrowed his brows "Yes, I am. But I haven't really experienced anything similar to what Yurnero is going through right now," nodding his head in agreement, the masked student sighed "I appreciate the help you're all trying to give me, but I am sure I can think of a way out of this myself," snorting, Visage shook his head "You've been 'in' this predicament for over a year now, right?"

"I suggest you either tell her you're not interested or welcome her with open arms," taking a bite off of his food, Visage shrugged "Or you could keep this up 'til graduation," looking to be in thought, Yurnero nodded vigorously "I suppose you are right, _Visage-san_, I will try to take your suggestion to heart," snorting, Skitskurr downed the contents of his glass in one go "Since when were you our love guru, Visage?" opening his mouth to retort, Visage was cut off from his word when the prankster had snickered "This thing is right up Ru's alley, you know?"

Sighing in disbelief, Rubick shook his head "Can't I at least have a single day without the whole 'Lanaya' thing?" raising his arms up in a surrendering fashion, Skitskurr grinned from ear to ear "Hey, I didn't even mention _Lanaya_, Ru," groaning and lowering his face as his companions laughed along, Rubick shook his head "Speaking of the apple that takes Ru's eye, there she is right now," pointing behind Rubick, Skitskurr smiled.

"She's eating by her lonesome, unbelievable!" lightly pounding his fist on the table, Razor shook his head "Rubick, as a gentleman of extraordinary resolve, I am sure you will not hesitate in joining her as she partakes in her daily supper, yes?" furrowing his brows an shaking his head, Rubick was about to speak when Skitskurr had sneered "Come on, Ru, she's just begging to be eaten with,"

Groaning when his companions had started cheering for him, the raven haired student stood up and took his tray with him "Fine, fine, jeez!" turning around to walk towards Lanaya's table, Skitskurr cheered the loudest "Be sure to eat _with _her and not eat _her_!" feeling blood rush to his face, Rubick shook his head violently. Sometimes he questioned his friendship with Skitskurr.

"D-do you mind if I join you?" smiling nervously as his heart pounded like a drum, Rubick anticipated for the worst. Raising her head to look at the person who had just talked to her, Lanaya smiled when she had seen brilliant green orbs staring at her light blue ones "Sure," quickly taking a seat across from hers, Rubick gulped audibly "So, you studying for something?" shaking her head, Lanaya didn't avert her gaze from her book "Just reading something,"

Furrowing his brows when he felt a strange chill run up his spine, Rubick dismissed it as his friends silently cheering him on "So, what's it-" a paralyzing fear gripped at his senses, and Rubick instinctively looked towards his left. A clear window showcased the night outside; or lack thereof for that matter. Darkness engulfed everything, only small silhouettes of trees and the nearby 'Rax could be seen.

"Did you-" turning to look at Lanaya, the raven haired female closed her book and furrowed her brows "Feel that?" finishing his question, Lanaya looked towards the window as well. Nodding in a sheepish manner, Rubick was at least happy that he wasn't imagining things "It felt as if," wracking his thoughts for the right term, Rubick was surprised when Lanaya had finished his sentence for him "As if we were being watched from outside,"

* * *

Giving off a bellowing laugh, Tansa shook his head "Don't worry, I won't let our cute little Terrorblade kill that rogue," furrowing their brows at their father, the three brothers couldn't fully understand what their father was trying to say "It's simple, really, all he has to do is 'hurt' a certain somebody and he's done!" clearing his throat, Tansa fixed his necktie "Terror is simple there to… give him reminders. A sort of enforcer, if you will,"

Nodding their heads in agreement, the brothers relaxed in their chairs "But I'm curious about one thing, father," raising a curious brow at Eredar, Tansa nodded his head to prompt his son to ask his question "What are our roles in this fiasco?" shrugging, Tansa smiled "Just go on with doing whatever you do every day; there won't be any problems if you do," nodding in agreement, Eredar slightly slumped in his seat "I still don't think this is a good idea,"

Smiling widely, Tansa shook his head "I never said it was,"


	22. Countermeasures

**COUNTERMEASURES**

* * *

Concentrating his vision on the darkness outside, Rubick squinted his eyes in better hopes of discerning whatever it was that made him and Lanaya uneasy like that. Averting his gaze from the darkness outside, he noticed that his companion was observing the outside with the same level of scrutiny, shaking his head slightly and groaning when he had noticed he was staring.

The other occupants of the mess hall didn't seem to have been affected by whatever was out there. Frowning slightly when his eyes fell on his previous table where Skitskurr was grinning from ear to ear with two thumbs in the air. Surveying the other tables, Rubick found it strange that no one else was startled apart from the two of them.

That is, until he eyed a certain brunette who sat near the windows. Sitting by her lonesome, with her arms crossed and her brows furrowed to a frightening extent. Rubick fondly remembered her as the one who assaulted Skitskurr because of one of his antics. Her normal graceful features were replaced by an intense glare; the animosity in her gaze was almost palpable.

Slightly perking up when he had heard the door to the mess hall open, Rubick raised a brow curiously when he had seen a familiar face rush towards the mess hall's cook "Professor Mortred..?" snapping out of her trance when Rubick had suddenly spoke, Lanaya turned her gaze towards the pale woman who was frantically catching her breath.

After exchanging a few words accompanied with extravagant gestures, the professor quickly exited the mess hall "Strange," a small smile curled up Lanaya's lips; looks like there was something interesting going on at the moment. Slamming his palm on the counter a few times, the cook cleared his throat "Awright, I've been told that they're enforcing an early curfew today," shrugging, the large server nodded "I s'pose it's time you all went to yer rooms,"

As the number of occupants of the mess hall slowly diminished, Rubick stood up and sighed in disbelief. He already started conversing with Lanaya, too. Skitskurr waved and made various gestures, giving a thumbs up at the end, to which Rubick replied with a confused smile "You think this is related to what happened earlier?" standing up and nestling her book to her side, the raven haired female stood beside Rubick.

"Probably," eyeing the brunette in the corner of his eye, Rubick noticed that she looked more irritated than angry before reluctantly breaking her glare at the window and heading for the door "She seems to have felt it, too" raising his hand slightly and pointing towards the brunette, Rubick raised a brow curiously when Lanaya had stifled a giggle "Is that so?"

Walking towards the door, the raven haired female glanced at Rubick for one last time "Take care," frowning slightly before slightly smiling, Rubick cleared his throat "Likewise,"

* * *

"That doesn't make sense," an irritated growl escaped his lips "The gates are around fifteen feet high-" shaking his head in disbelief and slightly massaging his temples, light blue orbs pierced onto black ones "There's no way he could have entered,"

Growling, Banehallow didn't so much flinch from the glare "My nose does not lie; he's inside," huffing, the night guard shrugged "As soon as I took my shift, I could already smell him _inside_ of the school premises," nodding in agreement, the person to Banehallow's left stood up, his large frame slightly blocking the moonlight that futilely seeped into the dimly lit room "So he managed to get in during the daytime?"

"That's impossible!" Luna retorted, a small growl escaping her lips "I would have seen him entering if that were the case," chuckling in a mocking fashion, Banehallow grinned smugly "Getting rusty, woman?" clutching the collar of his uniform and slightly raising him from the ground, the pale haired woman glared daggers at the night guard, to which Banehallow replied by giving her a laugh.

"Enough," the man to their right continued to massage his temples "I don't care when he got in; what I do care about is that he's _inside_," letting go of Banehallow's collar, Luna crossed her arms and huffed "Assemble the Sentinel, Luna, make rounds throughout the school premises," stomping away, the pale haired woman slammed the door behind her.

"Try and find him, Banehallow," grinning, the night guard was about to leave when he was stopped in his tracks "But do not engage him," groaning in irritation, Banehallow shook his head "I won't die, Arb," chuckling, the large man turned towards the window of the room, scrutinizing the moon "I'm sure you won't, but now is not the time to subdue our interloper," pursing his lips and nodding, Banehallow lowered his head in a humbled manner "Yes, Wurld,"

As Banehallow left the room, Arb, the one sitting, slumped in his chair and sighed in disbelief "What better way to start the academic year, hmm?" groaning in his seat, Arb hissed at his companion's cheery demeanor "Nothing about this is worth joking about, Wurld," shaking his head and nodding, Wurld returned to his seat "I suppose you are right,"

Huffing in disbelief and clearing his throat, Arb gestured at the two people who sat idly near the doors "Ahrak, go help Luna out," nodding in agreement, the redhead exited the room "You go and help Banehallow," smiling cheekily, he shrugged "How much am I being paid for this, again?" groaning when Wurld had chuckled at the snide comment, Arb shook his head "Don't get snippy with me, Gondar,"

Turning around and raising his arms in a surrendering fashion, Gondar chuckled "Fine, fine," slumping in his chair even more, Arb groaned for the umpteenth time "This does not bode well," taking the landline phone that sat idly on his table, Arb pressed on the number zero and talked on the line "Get us Nerif," a barely understandable 'yes' answered back before he slammed the phone back down.

"Don't be too tense, old friend," sighing in disbelief, Arb shook his head "This isn't like one of those delinquent cases, Wurld, we can't afford to lose our students," a knowing laugh entered both of their ears as the door slightly opened "But that's just the problem," closing the door gently behind him, Nerif had a grin plastered to his face "At least one has to die,"

Arb shot up from his seat and frowned "What do you mean?!" taking a chair and placing it in front of the two desks, Nerif raised his index finger "One is the minimum casualty; but the casualty can be the interloper," slightly regaining his composure, Arb sat down "Go on," shrugging, Nerif gave a slightly nervous smile "But he can also overpower the guards; remember what happened to Lunar Industries?"

Nodding his head in a knowing manner, Wurld sighed "What do you suggest we do?" clapping his hands together, Nerif grinned from ear to ear "I thought you'd never ask; but then again, I knew you would,"

* * *

"Err, what's happening?" shrugging when the question was thrown at him, Pudge shook his head "Yer guess is as good as mine, lad," furrowing his brows, Rubick was about to say something when he closed his mouth abruptly "Thanks for the meal, I suppose," as the raven haired student exited the mess hall, Pudge sighed in disbelief, trudging towards the storage room at the back.

"I 'ave to say, it's been a while since I used you," clenching on a large hook with his right hand, the large chef frowned "I guess it's pretty serious if they're askin' me to arm meself," taking a large cleaver knife with his left hand, Pudge closed the door to the storage room using his foot "I s'pose I'll join the others after a while,"

Brandishing the two impractical weapons with both of his arms, the mess hall chef tossed them around and juggled them with relative ease " 'Aven't gotten rusty just yet," smiling to himself, Pudge threw the hook towards a table, tugging at the chain in one quick fashion. As soon as the metal of the hook latched onto the wood of the table, it was literally sent flying towards Pudge's direction.

Stopping the table mid-air using his cleaver, Pudge blinked his eyes owlishly a few times "Whoops," as the table fell down with a loud thump, the chef chuckled nervously "Now how 'm I going to explain this large gash on this table 'ere?"


	23. Curiosity

**CURIOSITY**

* * *

"Please do return to your room immediately," slightly jumping in surprise when a voice had suddenly spoke to him, Rubick nodded in an agreeing fashion "We thank you for your understanding," another voice entered his ears and the raven haired student slightly furrowed his brows before turning around towards the 'Rax "Sentinel," muttering under his breath, Rubick pondered as to what the two large men were doing in front of the mess hall.

Pushing the doors to the male 'Rax open, Rubick slightly squinted his eyes as light from within started seeping out "Ah, Rubick, hitting the hay?" the dormitory steward greeted with a warm smile "Yeah," smiling back at the older man, the raven haired student made his way towards the stairs "The shower rooms are at the far end of this hall," crossing his legs and opening the newspaper, Azwraith spoke to no one in particular.

At the mention of the word 'shower', Rubick's eyes lit up "Ah, thanks," ascending the stairs and slightly chuckling; Rubick remembered that he hadn't taken a shower since the week started. Opening the door to his room, the raven haired student jumped back in surprise when he had almost bumped into Ahrak "Ah, sorry," smiling apologetically, Rubick stepped out of the way and raised a brow curiously "Going out?"

Placing his hands within his pant pockets, Ahrak didn't bother to look back "Yeah," as the sound of the redhead's footsteps slowly died out; Rubick entered the room and closed the door behind him. Icarus laid stomach first on his bed, eyes glued onto his gaming device while his brows were slightly furrowed.

Sitting down on his bed, Rubick started untying his shoe laces. Taking his shoes off and placing them neatly beside the desk adjacent to his bed, the raven haired student stood up and removed his shirt, throwing it off nonchalantly onto his bed. Sitting down once more, Rubick started reaching for something to his immediate left.

Furrowing his brows when his hand had made contact with nothing, Rubick's eyes widened in realization as he muttered a curse under his breath. Quickly putting on his shirt and leaving the room with haste, he rushed down the stairs and pursed his lips "Yes?" raising his gaze lazily towards Rubick from the newspaper, Azwraith raised a brow in a questioning manner.

"May I, uhh, use the telephone?" shrugging, the lanky man returned his attention towards the newspaper "By all means," pushing the device slightly towards Rubick's direction, Azwraith reclined in his chair, taking a sip from a blue mug from underneath the counter using his free hand. Taking the phone and hastily typing in the numbers, Rubick groaned slightly. To think he'd forget something as important as a change of clothes.

"Yes? May I help you?" clearing his throat when he had heard a familiar voice, Rubick smiled sheepishly "Humberto? It's me, Rubick," placing the phone on his shoulder, Rubick pressed his head sideward to keep it balanced "Ah, master Rubick, how may I help you?" placing his hands inside of his pockets, Rubick frantically fished for something "Yeah, I forgot to bring clothes- do you mind sending some for me?"

Relief washed over his senses when his fingers had felt an all too familiar wad of money "Yes, of course, young master. Shall I send them over to you right now?" taking the phone and relaxing his posture slightly, Rubick shook his head "I wouldn't want to bother you. Just send them tomorrow," glancing upward, the raven haired student raised a brow curiously at the clock "As you wish, then. Have a pleasant evening, young master,"

"_Eight forty-three,_" Rubick placed back the phone as soon as the line was cut from the other side "_It's already that late, huh?_" smiling sheepishly, Rubick turned towards the stairs "Thanks, Mr. Azwraith," replying with a hum, the steward turned a page on his newspaper. Going up the stairs and entering his room melancholically, Rubick sighed in disbelief as he slumped on his bed.

Icarus hadn't moved a bit, Rubick found it ridiculous how much the blond was engrossed with his game. Lying on his bed and placing both of his arms behind his head, Rubick stared at the ceiling, remembering the things that had transpired the whole day; only to hiss in irritation at himself when he remembered that he forgot to bring a change of clothes.

Remembering the time he spent with Lanaya made a small smile tug at his lips; albeit it was rather short. Frowning when his train of thought suddenly brought him towards the eerie feeling that he had felt when he had gazed out into the darkness earlier. A multitude of questions bombarded his mind, even questions unrelated about the darkness. As his eyelids became heavier and heavier each second, Rubick's senses were engulfed by sleep.

* * *

"Well, lads, I s'pose I wasn't called for just because of a prank, eh?" smiling jovially as he tried to lighten the mood, Pudge snorted in disbelief "Come on, lads, this ain't the first time the school's been broken into," giving up in trying to spruce things up, Pudge shook his head. As the three of them passed by the 'Rax, Pudge furrowed his brows. The night felt serene, nothing out of the ordinary actually; but one thing bugged him the most, tonight was the darkest night he'd ever seen.

Going up the stone steps of the main building, Pudge wiped at his brow, slightly huffing "Don't tell me I'm going to 'ave to go up to the principal's office?" regaining his breath as he walked groggily inside, his companions stopped outside without following him "No need, Ms. Mercurial will brief you," the taller one of the two answered "Hmm, awright then,"

Walking towards the far end of the hall, Pudge eyed the sole occupant of the spacious lobby. Dark maroon hair caught his attention first, while her pale complexion was barely noticeable due to her looking downard "Good evenin', the lads told me you'd help me get my head wrapped around this predicament we're in," turning her attention towards the portly man in front of her, the woman smiled "Yes, of course," clearing her throat, the woman scanned at a piece of paper before she began speaking.

"As you have already been informed, an early curfew was administered to all students," covering her mouth when she started coughing, the woman shook her head "This is to prevent any harm towards the students," Pudge raised a brow in a questioning manner "We have yet to identify the interloper, but the staff are to be on high alert,"

"Why was I told to arm meself?" tapping his foot slightly, Pudge couldn't understand why he was asked to be mobilized "They must be pretty desperate if they're turnin' to the cook for help," raising a brow incredulously, the woman stifled a giggle "I assure you, Mr. Pudge, you've been called for contingency purposes," slightly relaxing in posture, the large cook shrugged "I s'pose,"

Clearing her throat, the woman reclined on her seat as she took a sheet of paper from underneath the one that she was reading "We have speculated the interloper to be the 'Night Hunter'," tensing up at the mention of the name, Pudge frowned "Balanar? That loony's locked up tight somewhere, right?" nodding her head as she pulled another piece of paper to the surface, the woman laughed nervously.

"The university has sent an inquiry regarding the state of Mr. Balanar's incarceration," raising a brow when the woman had suddenly stopped speaking, Pudge was about to speak when he was cut off "It appears he has escaped,"

* * *

"No wonder someone managed to get in," weaving through the shadows with relative ease, Lanaya pressed her back onto the wall "Security sure is lax," smiling cheekily, the raven haired female was about to make a sprint to the other wall when someone had sneered at her "The invader is just really good," turning around and assuming a defensive stance, Lanaya lowered her arms and crossed them instead "He sure is throwing wool over everyone's eyes,"

"Gondar," crossing his arms when Lanaya had snarled at him, Gondar leaned on the wall; the moonlight was barely enough to illuminate his figure "What're you doing out here this late in the night, hmm?" piercing red eyes glimmered dangerously with curiosity "You see, about that-" taking a step backward, Lanaya grit her teeth; of all the people she could've possibly ran into.

"Curious, huh?" removing himself from the wall and moving into the open effectively soaked his figure in pale moonlight; his blood red eyes painfully scrutinizing "As much as I'd like to see you get into trouble, I think it'd be useless if you were dead," furrowing her brows and adjusting her scarf upward, Lanaya was about to make a run for it; but chose to stay because it wasn't every day that the 'Great Bounty Hunter' warned her of death.

Grinning from ear to ear when he noticed her reluctance to elude him, Gondar turned around and gestured at her to follow him "I'll escort you back to the 'Rax," frowning as she reluctantly followed Gondar, Lanaya huffed "It's that serious?" nodding without turning to look back at the raven haired female, Gondar shrugged "They've practically mobilized all the staff," perking up slightly, Lanaya's curiosity reached its peak "How many managed to get in?"

Stifling a laugh, Gondar shook his head "Just one," frowning, Lanaya pouted "You're joking," her irritation grew each second that her companion didn't speak. A silent stroll of roughly five minutes transpired before the two managed to arrive behind the two 'Rax. Leading her towards the door of the female dormitory, Gondar opened the door in a mocking manner.

Furrowing her brows and glaring at Gondar, Lanaya entered the door but was abruptly stopped when Gondar had reached for her wrist "Don't go out at night- at least, not alone," brushing his arm away, Lanaya greeted the stewardess of the dormitory with a smile "See you later, babe," slowly closing the door behind him, Gondar grinned cheekily, making his way towards the main gate.

"Ugh," shuddering, Lanaya turned towards the stairs "Has Puck checked in?" nodding as a response, the stocky stewardess smiled "You're rather late tonight, dearie," smiling suggestively, the woman placed an arm under her chin "Perhaps a little rendezvous with that rugged looking man from earlier…?" smiling incredulously at the stewardess, Lanaya shook her head "Gondar? Please, Ms. Arachne, I have better taste in men than that,"

Waving her hand dismissingly, Arachne smiled in agreement "Mhm, that's good to hear. Have a pleasant evening, dearie," ascending the stairs to the second floor, Lanaya's ears were filled with the sound of an all too familiar violin. Passing by Mirana's room, the raven haired female wondered to herself just how long Mirana's roommate had been playing the same song every night.

Opening the door to the left of the far end of the hall, Lanaya was slightly surprised that her roommate, Puck, was still awake. Entering the room and closing the door behind her, the raven haired female sat on her bed and removed her scarf, folding it neatly before placing it on top of the small desk beside her bed "You're rather late tonight," smiling lazily, Puck's hair looked more dishevelled than usual.

Untying the laces of her shoes, Lanaya smiled "Right back at you," smiling sheepishly, Puck shook her head and pointed the book that she was holding towards the direction of her roommate "I borrowed a book from the library and I couldn't stop reading it," nodding in a knowing manner, the older female undid her braid and reached for the uppermost drawer on the desk beside her bed.

"What's it about?" opening the drawer and reaching for a hair brush, Lanaya started grooming her hair "It's about a protagonist who has trouble telling his love interest how he really feels," furrowing her brows slightly and smiling, Lanaya giggled "A romance? I never took you as that type of reader," smiling sheepishly, Puck closed the book and placed it on the desk beside her bed "It's just-"

Standing up and smiling mischievously, Lanaya propped herself on Puck's bed, gesturing at her junior to turn around "Perhaps you're interested in someone?" turning around as Lanaya had instructed, Puck shook her head quickly "I, uh, no-" brushing the bluenette's hair while stifling a laugh, the raven haired senior placed an arm on Puck's shoulder "Relax, I was just teasing,"

Laughing in an embarrassed manner, Puck pursed her lips "Ah, right…" while brushing Puck's hair, Lanaya was surprised at how smooth and soft it was. Unconsciously humming, Lanaya was surprised when Puck had cleared her throat "How about you, Lanaya?" raising a brow curiously, the raven haired female continued to brush at her companion's hair.

"Do you have anyone you're interested in?" smiling slightly, Lanaya finished grooming Puck and stood up to return to her bed "That's a secret," Puck pouted at her senior at the answer that she received "Good night," removing her shirt before moving towards the light switch, Lanaya waited 'til Puck was in a comfortable enough sleeping position; smiling slightly as she turned the lights off.


	24. Insomnia

**INSOMNIA**

* * *

Explosions covered the entirety of the large monster's body; writhing and screaming in pain as it started emanating a bright and brilliant yellow light. As the monster's screams escalated to a near deafening point, the four heroes braced themselves and closed their eyes as the large beast in front of them exploded into nothingness; sending out a faint shockwave of warmth.

As the brightness receded, large stylized words faded into the screen "The end," muttering to himself, Icarus' tired eyes were on the verge of closing. Placing the game console on one of his pillows and rubbing at his eyes with his fists, the blond lay on his back and took the device in his arms once more. Hastily skipping past the ending credits reel, a small smile tugged at Icarus' lips.

Returning back to the starting screen of the game, the blond turned off the device and placed it gingerly on the desk beside his bed. Placing his arms on his chest as he gazed on the ceiling, Icarus' smile did not let up for one moment "Finished the game," his smile vanished as soon as he muttered those words. Scrunching his brows and hissing in irritation, the blond shook his head slightly "This is the second game I've finished this week…"

The moon provided enough light to illuminate the whole room in a faint blue glow. Turning his head to the right, Icarus furrowed his brows at the sight of Rubick. His senior had his right arm up, leaning on the wall; whilst his left leg dangled awkwardly at the edge of the bed. Shaking his head when he had noticed that he was staring, Icarus sat up on his bed, surprised that Ahrak hasn't returned yet.

"Four twenty seven," whispering to himself as he spied the bold green letters on the digital clock near Ahrak's bed, Icarus lay on his back and closed his eyes. Silence filled his ears as darkness engulfed his eyes. Staying still for what felt like an eternity, Icarus furrowed his brows and sat up in haste. Frowning further, the blond stared at the digital clock in disbelief.

"Four thirty,"

As the clock just turned into four thirty-one, Icarus shook his head. This just wasn't working for him. Standing up and putting on his flip-flops, the blond eased through the room and gently opened the door. Taking a quick peek of his upperclassman before slowly closing the door to their room, Icarus made his way towards the stairs, gingerly going down the steps in hopes of not waking anyone up.

Reaching the ground floor without making any awkward noises, Icarus smiled to himself. Noticing that the front desk was empty, the blond shrugged to himself while tiptoeing towards the front door; leaving the male 'Rax similarly to the way he left his room.

Clutching at his shoulders when a night breeze flew past by him, Icarus walked towards the cafeteria; eyeing the strange lights that were systematically lighting certain spots in the campus. Pushing the mess hall doors open, the blond was pleased that he was its only occupant; apart from the resident cook.

"Hey, mister Pudge," taking a seat on the nearest table to the food dispensers, Icarus slouched on the wood of the table while crossing his arms under his head. Clumsily hiding the obscenely large hook and meat cleaver behind his back, the cook blinked a few times in surprise "Ah, lad, didn't see ya enter," shrugging, the blond wanted to know what Pudge was hiding behind his back; but he was taught to not pry unless directly involved.

"Can I fix somethin' up for ya?" depositing both of his unorthodox weapons in a nearby drawer, Pudge leaned on the counter and smiled at the blond, noticing the lack of sleep in his eyes "How 'bout some coffee?" nodding slightly at the suggestion, Icarus stifled a yawn as he felt his eyelids getting heaver as time passed.

"A cup of joe, then," turning around and entering the kitchen area, Pudge flicked on the light switch and tightened the straps of his apron around his belly. Taking a mug from one of the dish dryers that housed various drinking apparatus, the cook placed it on a large table in the middle of the room. Going towards a large water dispenser and reaching behind it, a click resounded through the empty room as a bright red light shone on the panel of the water dispenser.

Going towards the pantry at the far end of the room, Pudge opened the middlemost cabinet; fishing out a jar of powdered coffee. Eyeing a box of teabags curiously, the cook nodded to himself "Maybe some tea would help calm his nerves, too," taking the box with him as well, Pudge placed the ingredients neatly beside the empty mug.

Opening the box and taking out a single teabag from inside, Pudge placed it inside of the empty mug. Hearing an all too familiar click, he took the mug by its handle and placed it under one of the nozzles of the water dispenser and clicked on the button underneath the red light with just muscle memory. The mug was filled with hot water halfway up when Pudge had clicked on the button once more, effectively stopping the release of the scalding-hot water.

Placing the mug beside the other ingredients, Pudge opened the jar of powdered coffee and placed it back on the table before turning around towards the refrigerator; opening it and taking a carton of milk. Closing the refrigerator door behind him, the cook opened a nearby drawer and withdrew a teaspoon; closing the drawer with the back of his hand before going towards the table with the other ingredients.

Discarding the teabag in a nearby trashcan, Pudge took three teaspoonfuls of the coffee and mixed it into the tea. Removing the lid on the carton of milk, the cook stifled a yawn; pouring the milk into the mug as he continued to stir the concoction. Eyeing the wall clock that hung above the kitchen doors, Pudge grumbled. Looks like he won't be catching any sleep tonight; or wasn't able to catch any sleep last night, rather.

Placing the carton of milk back on the table as the mug was filled to around four-fifths, Pudge continued stirring with the teaspoon while his free hand screwed the lid back on the milk container. Humming something while slightly tapping his foot, the cook stopped stirring the beverage. Walking towards the refrigerator with the carton of milk, Pudge deposited the milk container back inside while simultaneously taking out a pitcher filled with bright red liquid.

Turning towards the dish dryers, Pudge withdrew another mug; filling said object to the brim with the red liquid. Taking a large swig of the beverage, the cook cleared his throat "That's the stuff," finishing the contents of his mug and discarding it in the sink, Pudge returned the pitcher back inside the refrigerator. Swiftly turning around and gripping the mug with the coffee-tea mix by the handle, Pudge exited the kitchen and was about to announce that the beverage was ready; but no words exited his mouth.

Icarus' face was buried in his crossed arms, his back rising and falling at a steady pace. Letting his mouth fall open for a second or two, Pudge's lips curled into a smile "S'pose I made him wait too long," placing the mug on a nearby cup warmer, the cook leaned down to plug the contraption to the nearest outlet. Opening the drawer where he discarded his unorthodox weapons in, Pudge gingerly took them out, slightly cringing at the faint jingling sound that the chains made.

Thinking of returning the weapons back to the storage room, Pudge stopped in his tracks when a thought crossed his mind? "_What if that loon attacked right now?_" glancing towards Icarus' direction, the large cook grumbled under his breath before depositing the weapons in the same cabinet he hastily stored them in earlier.

* * *

Blinking owlishly a few times, Rubick stared at the ceiling for half a minute or so. Flinching in pain when a stinging sensation coursed through his right leg, the raven haired student pushed on his elbows to sit on his bed. Playing around with his leg 'til he regained feeling in it, Rubick furrowed his brows "No dream," he muttered. Putting on his shoes, Rubick was slightly surprised that Icarus hadn't woken him and Ahrak up. Glancing towards his right, said brunet had his face buried in his pillow; his limbs strewn across the bed at random places.

Stifling a yawn as he checked on the time, Rubick was slightly surprised that it was only quarter 'til six. Exiting the room and descending the stairs, the raven haired student was surprised to see a familiar face near the counter "Humberto?" the elderly man turned his attention towards Rubick, a small smile gracing his lips "Ah, young master," handing a rather large brown suitcase towards the raven haired student, the elderly man bowed slightly "I will be taking my leave,"

"Where are the bathrooms again?" watching the butler leave, Rubick thought aloud "At the end of this hall," jabbing a thumb behind him, Azwraith sipped from his mug. Taking a peek at the hallway adjacent to the stairs, Rubick could hear rushing water "Thanks," turning towards the stairs and rushing up to his room, the raven haired student opened the door gently; placing the suitcase onto the bed and opening it, a light click emanated through the room.

Pushing the lid upward, a smile tugged at Rubick's lips "My scarf," shaking his head and taking the neatly folded piece of black and gold fabric in his arms, the raven haired student silently thanked his butler. Gingerly placing the scarf on top of his pillow, Rubick discarded a bright green shirt and a pair of black slacks, neatly placing them beside the open suitcase. Taking a large blue towel that seemed out of place in the assortment of greens and blacks, Rubick eyed the word stitched onto said material.

"Aghanim," a wave of sadness coursed through his veins "Huh, I wonder how dad is doing," slinging the towel over his shoulder as a wistful sigh escaped his mouth, Rubick stood up and took one last glance on his sleeping roommate before leaving the room.

* * *

A/N: Real sorry about the absolutely late update.

Everything's been, well, not falling into place for a while now.

Hope you guys enjoyed reading.


	25. Breakfast

**BREAKFAST**

* * *

Wrapping the towel around his neck and descending the stairs in a slow manner, Rubick listened carefully to what sounded like running water. Swiftly turning towards the hallway that led to the lavatories, the raven haired student remembered hearing said sound when he took his clothes from Humberto earlier. Slowly opening the door, Rubick slightly jumped in surprise when his skin had come in contact with warm steam. Shaking his arm a few times before opening the door, Rubick closed his eyes as he let the steam encompass his body.

Entering the washrooms and taking slow steps due to the wet floor, Rubick opened the door on one of the nearer cubicles. Draping his towel over the edge of the walling, the raven haired student closed the door behind him and started stripping. Hanging his clothes on a conveniently placed hook on the door, Rubick turned the knob on the shower and shivered in delight as the warm water splashed on his body.

Removing the ring that held his hair in a ponytail, Rubick gingerly placed it in one of his pant pockets. Walking up to the shower, the raven haired student let the water lazily trickle down his face. Rinsing his hair and unconsciously reaching for something, Rubick furrowed his brows when his hand had felt nothing. Lifting up his hair to have a better look, the raven haired student hissed in irritation "Forgot," he muttered.

Shaking his head as he continued to rinse his head, Rubick thought that a day without shampoo is at least better than four days without taking a bath. Shaking his head and slicking his head back whilst turning the shower off, Rubick took the draped towel from the wall and wiped himself free of any water. Tying the slightly damp towel around his waist firmly and slinging his used clothes over his right shoulder, the raven haired student opened the door and exited the cubicle.

Gingerly taking his pants that hung from his shoulder, Rubick reached inside one of the pant pockets and fished for the ring that held his hair in place. A smile curled up his lips when he felt an all too familiar metallic object come in contact with the skin of his fingers. Slipping two of his fingers inside of the ring as he pulled it out of the pocket, Rubick slung his pants back on his shoulder and started reapplying his ponytail. Turning around at the sound of rushing water, Rubick raised a brow curiously and eyed the farthest cubicle in the room, which released a good amount of steam in a systematic pace.

Shrugging and opening the door to the washrooms, Rubick held his shoulders and shuddered at the sudden drop in temperature. Exiting the washroom and quickly shutting the door behind him, the raven haired student made a dash for the stairs; it was a good thing the floors were carpeted. Making the same swift motion that he did earlier on the stairs, Rubick quickly ascended the stairs and re-entered his room, gingerly closing the door when he had seen Ahrak turn in his sleep at the corner of his eye.

Closing the door behind him slowly, Rubick tiptoed towards his bed. Dropping his used clothes to the left of his still open suitcase, the raven haired student quickly got himself dressed and draped the towel over his shoulders as he sat down on the edge of his bed. Putting on his shoes and hanging his used clothes at the edge of the bed, Rubick rubbed at his chin, thinking of a place to put his towel to let it dry.

Glancing at the small desk at the side of his table, a smile graced his features. Closing the suitcase and placing it upright around an inch from the edge of the desk, Rubick draped a fourth of the towel above the suitcase while tucking said item underneath from behind it so as to prevent the towel from falling to the ground. Smiling and nodding at his idea, Rubick turned towards his bed and took his scarf into his hands; staring at it intently for a good second or so before draping it around his neck. His muscle memory started up and his hands worked by themselves, twisting and tying the scarf in a way that nothing but a forceful tug would undo it.

Smiling to himself as he felt the all too familiar warmth of the scarf around his neck, Rubick glanced at the wall clock that hung lazily on the wall above Ahrak's bed "Six thirteen," he whispered, slightly tensing up when his roommate tossed and turned in his sleep; muttering something in his all too obvious deep slumber. Tiptoeing once more towards the door, Rubick exited the room and stuck his tongue out as he slowly and painstakingly closed the door behind him. Descending the stairs, he gave a quick good morning to Azwraith, who replied with an amused grunt, before leaving the male 'Rax.

* * *

A refreshing breeze passed by and made the raven haired student's features morph into a smile. The lack of gloom and darkness around the campus boosted his mood exponentially. Opening one of the large doors to the mess hall, Rubick was surprised that it housed so few individuals. Normally at this time, the place would be at least half-packed, with morning schedules and all. Eyeing two familiar faces at the end of the mess hall curiously, Rubick quickly turned his attention towards Icarus; who was looking quite under the weather. The normally bubbly blond was sipping nonchalantly from his ironically bright blue mug.

Going towards the counters and giving Pudge a smile, Rubick eyed the food choices "Sausages and eggs, please," he furrowed his brows on his decision and made a quick decision that it was missing something "And a piece of toast, too," taking the ordered food on a plate, Pudge handed it over to Rubick "How 'bout something to wash it all down?" raising a brow slightly, the raven haired student shrugged "Just orange juice'll be fine," entering the kitchen behind him, Pudge quickly returned with a mug full of orange liquid.

Taking his food and drink and quickly seating himself beside his blond friend, Rubick furrowed his brows when his roommate didn't so much as look at him "Hey, Icarus!" flinching in surprise and blinking a few times, the blond shook his head and turned to look at the source of the voice, his eyes wide and his face just screamed surprised "Uh, hey, Ru," a small smile formed on the blond's lips "Didn't notice-" opening his mouth for a yawn, Icarus took a sip from his mug before sighing in exasperation.

"You okay?" taking a bite off of a sausage, Rubick's furrowed brows did not let up "Yeah, I'm good," nodding slowly, the blond finished the contents of his mug in one swift motion "Didn't sleep much," continuing on his meal without even looking at it, Rubick noticed that everything about Icarus seemed off. Frankly, he looked like a wet chick, with his dishevelled blond and highlighted hair that seemed to be obeying gravity for once.

Breaking the yolk of one of the eggs, Rubick pressed his spoon onto it, effectively filling his spoon with the yellow liquid "What time is your first class?" taking the spoon into his mouth and licking his lips, Rubick cut the egg in half and ate it. Blinking a few times, Icarus stifled a yawn "Eight," nodding at the response, the raven haired senior took a sip from his orange juice "You still got time, how about taking a quick nap?"

Sighing exasperatedly and shaking his head, Icarus stood up from his seat "Nah, might oversleep," as Icarus walked towards the food counter, Rubick eyed him carefully, feeling kind of sorry for his sleepless roommate. Sharing a quick laugh with the resident chef, the blond animatedly pointed towards food and reacted in the same manner. Shaking his head and continuing his meal, Rubick was amused at what a strange one-eight degree turn happened to his junior. Turning his head to look at the other occupants of the cafeteria, the raven haired student furrowed his brows at the sight of councilor Nerif and professor Mortred in a seemingly heated discussion.

Nerif was holding a small cup, most probably filled with tea or coffee, judging from the steam that came out of it. The councilor had his right leg crossed over his left, and the hand that held his cup had its pinkie finger jutting out. Stifling a laugh at how ridiculously posh the councilor's posture was, Rubick quickly turned his attention towards the female professor when she had buried her face in her arms on the table.

The female professor was wearing a grey long sleeved shirt and a pair of baggy shorts that reached her knees. Furrowing his brows at the get up of the professor, Rubick took a quick glance at Nerif. The councilor was wearing the same thing he always wore; a long sleeved white shirt under a bright blue vest and his khaki colored slacks. Returning his attention towards Mortred, Rubick surmised that the female professor had just woken up. Or just forgot to have a change of clothes.

Mortred lightly pulled at her hair as Nerif seemingly gave her advice with an all too familiarly teasing smirk plastered on his face. Biting her lower lip as she took all the information in, the female professor's shoulders slumped and after a pause, she nodded reluctantly "Hey, Ru?" taking his previous seat and placing his tray on the table, Icarus raised a brow curiously when he had noticed his senior looking at the distance.

Turning to look in the direction Rubick was looking, Icarus shrugged "Huh, didn't even notice them go in here earlier, haha," returning his attention towards his meal, Icarus started gorging the food into his mouth. The sounds Icarus made snapped Rubick out of his trance "Uh, what?" throwing the question into the air, Rubick hoped Icarus was asking him something "It's nothing," speaking through a full mouth, the blond ingested all his food in one gulp.

Snorting, Rubick shook his head as he continued on his meal, relieved that his roommate was already acting like his normal self.


	26. Uneasy

**UNEASY**

* * *

Taking a quick huff when he reached the top of the stone stairs, Rubick pursed his lips. Fishing for the piece of paper that Darchrow gave him in his first day, the raven haired student nodded to himself as he memorized the room number. Mentally patting himself on the back when he had withdrew the piece of paper from his old pant pocket before he took a bath, he folded it up and returned it back from the pocket he had gotten it from.

Going towards the grandiose flight of stairs, Rubick gave a quick wave towards the lady at the end of the room; who gave him a warm smile as a response. Ascending up the stairs and drumming his fingertips on the cold metal handle of the stairs, Rubick eyed the paintings that covered the walls of the building. Hand painted masterpieces littered the walls; some bright and colourful, while others were melancholic and bland.

The bright and glaring lights that hung from the ceiling shone a brilliant albeit very unnatural glow, making him squint his eyes a bit. Reaching the third floor and eyeing the numbers that were affixed atop the doors, Rubick reached for the doorknob of his room, opening it slowly and he was slightly surprised to find the room in complete tranquillity.

The room was decorated the same as the room he had class in yesterday. Lit by a single large yellow bulb, the atmosphere evoked a dreadful sense of drowsiness on anyone who entered. Glossy hardwood floors that were deceivingly un-slippery reflected some light back upward, making the floor seemingly shine. Similarly built armchairs were haphazardly arranged throughout the room, and a small weathered looking desk sat idly in front of the room.

Furrowing his brows slightly when the exact same sight beheld him at the back of the room, Rubick quickly broke eye contact and strode through the mess of chairs. Nevermore and Kaolin sat at seemingly the same places as yesterday; two chairs held a sort of ceasefire between the almost palpable hostility between the two prefects. Seeing the short, green haired student from his Chemistry class by the window, Rubick quickly dismissed the thought of socializing with the probably short-fused student.

"_Short-fused_," pursing his lips while stifling a chuckle, Rubick's eyes lit up at the familiar sight of a bright pink scarf. Taking a seat on the empty chair beside the raven haired female, Rubick straightened his posture and smiled "Morning," eyeing the quaint notebook she always had, Rubick was mildly surprised he didn't dream of her last night.

"Mhm," a small smile curled up her lips, which sent a chill up Rubick's spine "You slept well?" seating the pen in front of her notebook as she closed it, Lanaya finally broke eye contact with her writing apparatus and laid her bright blue orbs on nervous looking green ones. Smiling nervously, Rubick rubbed at the back of his head "Yeah, I hadn't dreamt of you for once," he cleared his throat as a nervous laugh left his lips.

Raising an eyebrow curiously, Lanaya scrutinized his features, mischief apparent on her smile as it slightly tugged upward "So you dream of me _every night_?" shaking his head and clearing his throat, Rubick reprimanded himself for turning into a puddle of mush in front of this woman "Well, yes. Err, no. Because last night I didn't actually-"

Straightening up in surprise when the door had slammed open, Rubick turned around too look at the noisy intruder "Alright, class, let's get started," Zeus' voice boomed, his small stature a betraying the thunderous might his speaking voice held "I've read your diagnostic tests and am impressed at how well your basic knowledge of Philosophy is,"

Slamming his hands on the table and shaking his head, Zeus sighed in disbelief "And once again, mister Nevermore has done nothing but drew-" raising the paper up so the class could see, Rubick furrowed his brows. Was that a dog? "nonsense on the diagnostic test. Again," a wide grin graced Nevermore's features, and the lanky male shrugged "Hey, pictures say a thousand words, amirite?"

Rushing inside of the classroom, Yurnero greeted the professor in his native tongue before taking a quick seat beside Rubick "You're a very… _creative_ individual, Nevermore. But it wouldn't hurt to shape up once in a while," mockingly pouting and shaking his head, Nevermore earned another sigh from his professor "But then again, you Ozkavosh's are untameable anyway,"

Raising his mask slightly to make his breathing easier, Yurnero slung his bag in front of the empty armchair in front of him and rested his blade beside it "_Ohayou, Rubick-san," _looking behind his senior, Yurnero struggled not to smile "Ah! _Ohayou_, as well, _Lanaya-san_," smiling and waving at the masked student, Lanaya was surprised Rubick was friends with Yurnero; the most reclusive out of the entire junior class.

Philosophy went by without many interruptions; apart from Nevermore's incessant quips and comments, which escalated towards the point where Kaolin had slammed his fist onto his chair and glared at the Dire prefect; who graciously accepted the challenge. Professor Zeus had to reprimand the two to effectively prevent the rumble.

"Alright, that's it for today, class," taking an eraser from the desk and wiping away at the board, Zeus continued "Don't forget to read up on Causality and the branches of Philosophy," saying one last goodbye, the professor left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Taking a quick glance behind him, Rubick was surprised that the two prefects were quite behaved; not jumping on each other the moment professor Zeus left the room "_Hai_, it was quite strange last night," nodding in agreement, Yurnero closed the notebook he was writing on earlier "It was darker than usual if I'm not mistaken,"

"Exactly," Lanaya smiled "I suppose we weren't the only ones who noticed, huh?" returning his attention towards his seat mates, Rubick nodded "There was something out there, I think?" Yurnero shook his head "It was probably just a stray animal," Rubick frowned "Then why did they enforce a curfew?"

"Unless it was a dangerous animal, of course," a cold breeze wafted in accompanied by a smell reminiscent to that of tar. Shivering in surprise, Rubick furrowed his brows and turned his attention towards the front door, only for his frown to quickly morph into that of terror. A man of average height stood at the door, sporting a dark purple suit and tie. His black undershirt and slacks seem to suck in all light, giving it the illusion that he was just a floating torso.

Pale skin was accompanied by slicked back dark purple hair. A small smile graced the man's features, but what really invoked terror into Rubick were his eyes. Small, but not small enough to be slits, his irises seemed to be completely black; as if they were hollow holes "Good morning, class," the man slurred, his voice sending an unsavory shiver down Rubick's spine.

"I will be your substitute Psychology professor for now," taking a marker from his pant pocket and turning around, the man emanated an unnerving aura "My name is mister Atropos," he turned around, an eerie grin on his face "I hope we all will have a pleasant time together,"


End file.
